


The Shadow Cult

by JolinarJackson



Series: Mosaic 'verse [5]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, M/M, Partner Betrayal, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-29
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-17 01:35:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 41,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5848810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JolinarJackson/pseuds/JolinarJackson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three suicides within twenty-four hours lead the police to believe that there's more to it. Torchwood, however, knows for sure: all the victims are connected to past cases … and to a new cult that seems a bit too interested in Torchwood. Meanwhile, Ianto finds a very interesting young man among the patients on Flat Holm, but his search for answers as to where the man came from is more dangerous than he could have expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Spoiler: Day One, Ghost Machine, Cyberwoman, Small Worlds, Greeks Bearing Gifts, They Keep Killing Suzie, Adrift, Fragments / Doctor Who: Boomtown, Parting Of The Ways, The Christmas Invasion, The Sound Of Drums  
> Setting: After They Keep Killing Suzie  
> Author's Note: References to previous parts and to some Doctor Who episodes. There's no need to know them but it's always better of course. :)  
> Beta: larsinger29, who was such a big help with this. Thank you!  
> Disclaimer: I’m not making money with this fanfic. The tv-show Torchwood and the characters appearing within it belong to their producers and creators. Any similarities to living or dead persons are purely coincidental and not intended.

**Prologue**

 

Eve Franklin had had a bad day. To go out and have some fun with her friends had sounded like a good idea. She didn't quite know, though, how they'd ended up in one of the ugliest clubs in Cardiff. _Wolf_ wasn't known for its size or originality, the music was never after Eve's taste, the drinks were too expensive and the men ... they were even worse. She'd only come here because all her friends had wanted to go.

Around two in the morning, the music became too much for Eve and she went to the loo to have some peace and quiet. Although she could still hear the bass beats through the door, they were much softer. Relieved, she leaned against the tiled wall and breathed in deeply. It smelled of disinfectant and perfume but at least she could move freely. She stood in front of one of the mirrors that hung over the sinks. The one beside her was shattered. It must have happened recently because the shards were still piled in the sink and distributed on the floor. "What kind of bitch was that?" Eve asked herself and grimaced. "This club is a rat hole." Eve put her handbag on the edge of the sink and brushed through her blonde hair with her fingers, then she got lipstick from her bag and leaned closer to the mirror. While she freshened her make-up, she noticed the condom machine in the corner and wondered whether she should buy some. David had offered to come home with her, but Eve didn't know if she should let him. They'd already slept together and she wasn't sure whether a repeat would be a good idea. She didn't want him to think that she was there to get laid whenever he didn't get a better offer.

She heard a muffled gasp from one of the cabins behind her and rolled her eyes. "Guys, go rent a room."

Something – or someone – fell to the floor. 

Eve shook her head. "I won't leave just because you guys can't restrain yourselves. Perhaps you even want me to listen." She freshened her eye shadow and mascara and then closed her handbag. She looked at herself, running her fingers through her hair again. It had become quiet in the cabin. Eve turned around, a bit curious now ... and backed away against the sink in shock. A pool of blood was spreading out from underneath the door. "Oh God," she murmured. "Oh God, oh God, oh God ..." She swallowed hard and stepped as close to the cabin as she dared, careful to avoid the growing pool of blood. She knelt down and looked inside through the gap. Dead eyes stared back. Eve let out a startled cry and ran out of the loo. "Oh God!" She bumped into a few people but ignored the angry shouts and curses. She reached the bar and grabbed the first bartender she could find.

"Hey, stand in line," he snapped.

"There's a dead woman in your loo," Eve cried. Several people who had heard her over the music looked at her. The bartender stared at her in disbelief. Eve repeated, "Don't you get it? A girl offed herself in there!"


	2. Chapter 2

**1.**

 

Owen Harper startled awake when the alarm sounded. For a moment, he tried to orient himself: his bedroom, the lights of the city falling through the panoramic windows ... the city lights! It wasn't even morning.

He groaned and wondered if he'd set his clock wrongly, but then, he became aware that it wasn't his alarm clock calling for his attention. He grabbed his mobile from the night stand. An automated alarm had gone off that woke him when a particular device in the Hub activated. Tosh had set it up for him and he'd been impressed because it allowed him to go home and still be notified in case of something happening. 

And it had happened.

He switched off the alarm and grinned widely. "Finally." He jumped out of bed, stumbled into his clothes and grabbed his leather jacket from the chair in the kitchen where he'd left it the night before. He spent five minutes trying to find his keys and once again promised himself to buy proper furniture for his flat to have a place for everything. Then he hurried into the night, on his way to the Hub. 

***

Detective Inspector Kathy Swanson parked her car at the roadside and took a moment to tie her black hair back. She was tired and overworked. The last twenty-four hours had been pure hell. Two suicides, both under mysterious circumstances, both with a common thread that linked them together ... and now it looked as if they had a third case similar to the others. Kathy opened the door and got out. She straightened her skirt and buttoned up her jacket before she resolutely walked towards the club dubbed _Wolf_. Curious onlookers had gathered at the barriers and patrol officers tried to hold them back with difficulty.

Inside the club, it was silent. The lights were switched on and rid _Wolf_ of any secrets – no dark corners, no meetings on the dance floor underneath dazzling lights ... just a big, slightly seedy room supported by pillars with a bar at one end and a DJ booth on the other.

Kathy saw the coroner Rebecca Edwards at the door to the ladies' room, talking with a colleague, and joined them. "Becky," she asked, "what have we got?"

Rebecca motioned to her to follow and went into the loo. Kathy took a deep breath and entered. A broken mirror was the first thing she noticed, then she saw the pool of blood on the floor. Slumped in a booth sat a young woman – still almost a girl. Light brown, long hair framed a finely-cut, pale face. Kathy closed her eyes for a moment. She was so young. And then to end this way in the loo of a nightclub.

"Carys Fletcher," Rebecca answered. "Slit her wrists. I suppose with the shards of the mirror. She may even have shattered it because the manager assured us that the mirror was just fine before he opened the club tonight."

Kathy squatted next to Carys's body. "The arm?"

Rebecca nodded and pointed to the numbers and letters written on Carys's forearm.

_D12, 10_

"This is the third suicide in the last twenty-four hours that's connected to that code," Kathy said thoughtfully.

"Do you think it's a serial killer?"

"We have witnesses for all the suicides," Kathy answered. "No one saw anyone influencing the victims. Besides, a comparison of the handwriting has shown that the victims themselves have written the code on their arms."

"Then someone who talks the victims into killing themselves?"

Kathy got up and crossed her arms. "I've seen stranger things. Do the autopsy. Write me a report as soon as possible. We could be dealing with a suicide pact or maybe even a cult of some sort." She turned away and went to speak with the witness who'd found the body. Three victims, no recognizable connection to each other and this code ...

***

Jack laughed and grabbed Ianto's hands before he flipped them over on the narrow bed in his quarters ... and collided with the wall. They uttered pained sounds and then smiled at each other. The playful and lively atmosphere changed abruptly into something quiet, intense. Ianto brushed his thumb over Jack's cheekbone. He stared at him, as if he was looking for something, and Jack looked back calmly. In the dim light of his bedside lamp, Ianto's eyes were dark blue, his cheeks flushed, his dark hair dishevelled. Jack liked that look. Of course, he also felt attracted to the always immaculate, earnest Ianto who worked with him just a few feet above them. But this Ianto, the one who spent some of his nights with Jack, was much more appealing. Freed from the pressure of the job, away from the prying eyes of the team.

Jack leaned down and kissed him. Running his fingers through Jack's hair, Ianto stroked Jack's back and shifted slightly to press their naked bodies together. Jack kissed from Ianto's cheek down to his neck and gently bit the pale skin, causing Ianto to gasp and move his hips, rubbing their erections together. Jack's hand slipped under the pillow and grabbed the lube. He opened it ... and Ianto took it away from him. "Let me," he said softly.

Jack shook his head. "Let's switch roles tonight." His erection grazed Ianto's and Ianto's legs tightened around him. He moaned deeply while Jack kissed his collarbone, his cheek and then his lips. "Let me, Ianto." He tried to take the lube but Ianto didn't let go.

Panting, he looked at Jack. "You like it when I do it."

Jack nodded with a smile and whispered, "And you'll love it if I do it."

"And it's two o'clock in the morning and this was supposed to be a quickie, because we have to get up early tomorrow, and I really don't want to do it this way." His voice became louder, breaking through the intimacy. He stared at Jack earnestly. "It would be ..." He paused and turned his head away.

Jack closed his eyes and nodded in understanding. He kissed Ianto and rolled his hips. They were so familiar with each other's bodies that he sometimes forgot some things. Like for example, that Ianto hadn't yet gone all the way with another man. Before Lisa had been discovered, he had always avoided that and since they'd re-ignited their sexual relationship, Jack hadn't yet had the urge to switch positions. He stroked Ianto's cheek and deepened the kiss. "Okay," he said quietly. Ianto tried to roll them around but Jack held him down and grinned mischievously. "Let me stay on top."

Ianto laughed softly and sat up while Jack straddled his lap. He slid closer to Ianto and pushed a hand into his hair to control the next deep kiss, while Ianto penetrated him with a finger.

"Good God," someone called and Jack spun around, looking up to the hatch that led into his office. No one was there, but he heard Owen curse, "Shit!"

Ianto blushed and grabbed the blanket from the floor to cover his groin. Jack dropped a kiss to his cheek. "A shame," he mumbled, standing up. Ianto let himself fall back and slid a hand under the blanket. He grimaced. Jack tried to get himself under control as well, and as soon as he believed he could wear a pair of trousers, he quickly put some on and climbed upstairs.

His office was lit by the bright lights falling through the windows from the main Hub. Owen was leaning against Jack's desk, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Jack grinned. "That'll teach you. You shouldn't just barge into other people's bedrooms."

Owen raised his head. "Okay, your bedroom is part of the secret underground base we're working in so the usual rules don't really apply here. And by the way, you'll pay for the therapy I'll need after seeing that. It's like a work accident."

"Come on," Jack said, amused, and shoved his hands in his pockets. "We both know that what you saw down there isn't news for you."

Owen's dark eyes narrowed angrily. "It's not about sex. It's about you and Ianto ... together ... in bed. I really didn't need to see that." With an annoyed sigh, he added, "Put a shirt on, damn it!"

Ianto ascended the ladder to Jack's office, wearing the suit trousers from the day before and his shirt unbuttoned. He gave Jack one of his shirts. Jack smiled at him gratefully and pulled it on but left it open. Ianto was still showing a blush and buttoned his shirt with nervous fingers. "What's the matter? What are you doing here at this time of night?"

Owen held up his mobile. "I got the alert. It's happening."

Ianto's eyes widened, any nervousness forgotten. "Already?"

Owen nodded and a smile crept across his face.

Ianto looked at Jack. "I'll call Gwen and Tosh."

Jack nodded and headed out of his office. "You do that. We'll meet you there!" 

***

Gwen put her hands against the cool glass and stared into the cell. "Oh, they're ..." She paused, looking at the four Weevil babies Anita had given birth to just half an hour ago and then said, "'Cute' is not quite the word I'm looking for."

The babies looked like a smaller version of their mother: leathery, wrinkled skin, a face that looked like a mixture of ape and monster and long claws on their hands. Only the dangerous fangs were still lacking. 

"Who knows," Jack said, leaning against the opposite wall of the dimly lit corridor with his arms folded and watching Anita carefully sniffing her babies. "Other races, different ideals of beauty."

Tosh smiled. "I think it's great."

Gwen didn't know if that was the word she'd been looking for but she decided to settle on it for now. Since Owen had found out that Anita was pregnant almost three months ago, the team had been waiting for the birth. At first, they'd set aside a storage room for Anita and her babies to live in since it was bigger than a regular Torchwood cell. Just one month later, however, they'd torn down the wall between two of the cells and moved Anita there because it gave them the chance to observe her through the plexiglass that separated the cells from the corridors. Owen had installed a number of devices controlling Anita's vital functions and had dived into his research about the alien with enthusiasm. His interest in the Weevils had been big from the start. The chance to study a pregnant one was the culmination of his previous research. Gwen agreed to the extent that it was interesting but she still didn't feel quite well in the presence of a Weevil which could kill a person within seconds. Soon, Jack would release Anita and her babies back into the sewers of the city where the Weevils lived separately from the citizens – at least as long as none of them came to the surface and started killing people.

Ianto was standing next to Owen and asked, "How long will they stay here?"

Owen looked up from his scanner. "A couple of weeks." He turned to Jack. "When we release them, I'd like to tag them."

Jack nodded in agreement. “We do that either way every time we catch one of them.”

Gwen frowned. "Are we sure about that? I mean, I'm not saying that we should kill them, but Weevils hunt humans. Should we help them to reproduce?"

"Only a very small number of Weevils kill people," Jack reminded her. "They usually keep to themselves in the sewers. Who are we to decide if they deserve to exist?" 

***

Kathy had stayed up all night. Between taking a close look at the crime scene, speaking to the CSI, receiving a report from Becky, it was only now in the early morning that she could sit down at her desk at the police station for the first time. She was almost the only one who was at work. Her colleagues were only now starting to come in and many desks were empty. Kathy nodded to the few early birds who arrived first and then focused on the plastic bag with Carys's personal belongings. A handbag, some cash and a bus ticket. Kathy used gloves to take a closer look at the contents of Carys's handbag. Mostly things that she'd already expected: keys, a wallet, lipstick, mobile, a bus schedule and a pocket calendar. The wallet didn't tell her much so Kathy flipped through the calendar. Doctor appointments, work hours, birthdays of family and friends ... and then she noticed something. Starting three weeks ago, Carys had introduced a new regular appointment. Every day at 7pm.

_Apollyon_

No address, no phone number, just that one word. Kathy opened Google and typed in the name. 1.42 million results. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, and then started a new search.

_Apollyon Cardiff_

253.000 results. Kathy sighed and decided to get a coffee. 

***

By late morning, Ianto entered Jack's office with two mugs of coffee. Jack looked up from a pile of paperwork, that only seemed to be getting bigger rather than smaller, and smiled. "Hey!" He gratefully accepted the mug that Ianto handed him.

Ianto leaned against the desk and warmed his hands on his mug. "Owen's still busy with the Weevil babies."

Jack laughed. "Let him have some fun." He rarely saw Owen so enthusiastic and excited about something, so he wanted him to have as much time as possible with his new project.

Ianto rolled his eyes. "And while he does, the police autopsy reports are piling up. I would go through them myself but Owen is the expert."

Jack raised his eyebrows and leaned back in his chair. "I like it when you're strict." He spread his legs a little and smiled challengingly. He wasn't being serious, of course. He and Ianto had one strict rule when it came to their affair: under not circumstances was it to have an influence on their jobs.

Ianto gave a little smile and his blue eyes sparkled with amusement. "Of course."

Jack lowered his voice, "Maybe later you can be a bit strict with me?"

Ianto pushed off the desk and set his mug aside. "I could be strict right now, sir." He straightened his suit jacket and stepped closer to Jack.

Jack watched him, interested in what Ianto would do next. "Yeah?"

"Certainly." Ianto leaned forward until he could whisper into Jack's ear. "Jack," he said, and pulled the chair closer to the desk, "fill out those forms, now." He tapped his fingers on the papers that were spread out on the desk and held a pen out to Jack.

Jack leaned back a little to see into Ianto's eyes. "Alright."

Ianto stepped back. "Now, I have to go and do some things."

"What kind of things?" Jack asked curiously.

"Get a few of your shirts from the dry cleaners, I have to get some groceries for the Hub and I want to get the stopwatch repaired."

Jack grimaced. "Right." A few nights ago, the antique pocket watch that Ianto had inherited from his mother had become the victim of a game that had involved Jack's desk, some scotch and handcuffs. It had been the night after Suzie's hopefully last death. Jack watched Ianto leave his office to stop briefly in the kitchen niche of the main Hub, then he took his coat off the hook and disappeared through the cogwheel door. Jack smiled. 

***

 _A Stitch In Time_ was a charming little shop in one of Cardiff's shopping streets. It seemed like a relic of a bygone era. Since everyone by now used their mobiles or modern watches to tell time, the grandfather clocks, wall clocks and all the other loudly ticking residents of the store had apparently become superfluous. The store owner was an old, polite man named Bilis Manger wearing an elegant, old-fashioned suit. Ianto had already been here once to get an accurate estimate of value of his mother's pocket stopwatch. Manger had given him a good price but ultimately, Ianto had decided against selling.

As Ianto came in, Manger looked up from his work on a clock. "Mr. Ianto Jones," he said with a smile. Ianto paused, surprised, and Manger said, "I remember you. You brought a watch for me to estimate its value."

"Right," Ianto said, somewhat relieved that there was a reasonable explanation for Manger to know his name.

Manger seemed to understand his relief and smiled reassuringly. "I just happen to have a good memory."

"Indeed."

Manger looked at him attentively. "What can I do for you? Have you decided to sell the good piece?"

"No," Ianto answered. He pulled the watch from his coat pocket. "But it needs repairs. I moved some furniture and the watch fell out of my pocket. Unfortunately, someone stepped on it." He put the watch on the counter. The glass was broken, the hands stood still.

"Oh," Manger said and seemed honestly sorry. "Such a shame." He picked up the watch and ran his fingers over the rim.

"Do you think you'll be able to fix it?" Ianto asked anxiously.

"It won't be cheap."

"Money's not an issue." Ianto knew that Torchwood would pay for the repairs. Jack had promised that.

"Well," Manger said with a smile. "You can pick it up next week."

Ianto nodded gratefully, gave the man his contact information and left. In front of the store, he paused, suddenly overcome by the feeling that something was wrong. He looked inside the store but Manger had gone back to work. Ianto shook his head at himself and turned to go.


	3. Chapter 3

**2.**

 

Jack opened the door to the corridor in which Anita's cell was situated. Owen was sitting on a stool in front of the plexiglass window, watching the family. When he saw Jack, he beckoned him closer. "Look at this."

Jack was amused at the open enthusiasm on Owen's otherwise so serious or sarcastic face. He stepped closer and came to a halt beside him. Anita sat in a corner of the cell and muttered under her breath. One of the babies was with her, tucked against Anita's flank. The other three were huddled in the nest of straw in the other corner. Jack frowned. "What are they doing?"

Owen signed him to be silent. Jack raised an eyebrow in response but he obeyed.

One of the babies was a whining and Anita replied with a brief shout.

Owen threw Jack a sidelong glance and said, "It's been like that for an hour."

"What for?"

"Wait ... I think you can see it for yourself."

Jack pulled the second stool closer and sat down.

The baby whimpered again and Anita replied with another growl. The baby got up carefully until it stood on shaky legs. Jack's eyes widened as it took a few uncertain steps and then fell. It whimpered and Anita made a humming noise – reassuring and encouraging. The baby sat up again and overcame the distance to its mother with a few slow, but almost perfect, steps.

Owen stared at Jack enthusiastically. "Isn't that fantastic? She teaches them walking by giving them no other option. Like birds do. Fly or fall. Only she says: come to me or starve." He made a note on the pad on his lap.

"This is fantastic," agreed Jack, "and as much as I hate to interrupt, but upstairs, work's waiting."

Owen sighed reluctantly. "I know."

Jack put a hand on his shoulder. "You have the CCTV. It's not like you can miss something."

"Yes. Alright." 

***

Ianto took a deep breath, leaning back in his chair in the boardroom. He'd closed the door to block out the noises of the main Hub. This exercise still required his full attention, even though he'd become better at using his empathy. He focused on his feelings – peace, calm, security – and pushed them back to find the emotions lurking in the background. He felt that it was already much easier to tell his and other peoples' feelings apart. He picked out one emotion – happiness – and then opened his eyes. Gwen was sitting at a table on the small balcony outside the boardroom and opened a box of chocolates which she'd brought to work. A gift from Rhys, without a doubt.

Ianto was a little dizzy and he closed his eyes again. Gwen's feelings were strong. Out of the whole team, she was the one Ianto could practice his empathy on the easiest. Sometimes, he felt a little guilty for using her as a guinea pig but she was just more open than the others.

His hand clenched around the armrest of the chair and he took a deep breath, focusing. He had to learn to hold on just a bit longer, if he wanted to be able to constantly feel other peoples' emotions one day. It was exhausting but it would get better – at least that was what Archie had said. Regret mixed with Gwen's happiness.

Ianto frowned as the feeling grew stronger. Why did she feel regret? Because she was breaking the promise to herself to cut back on chocolate like she'd told them three days ago? He doubted it. It was more likely that she felt remorse because of her affair with Owen. He tried not to let these negative emotions get too close. He couldn't allow himself to drown in them. He had to feel them but he couldn't internalize them.

"Ianto?"

The interruption startled him. He got up hastily and whirled around to Jack, feeling caught. "Sir, I ..." The world tilted to the side and a moment later, he found himself sitting on the carpet. He felt nauseous and dizzy, gasping for air.

Jack knelt beside him, one hand on his shoulder. "Okay, breathe deeply," he said softly.

Rapid steps came closer and then Gwen crouched down beside him, her green eyes worried. "My God, Ianto. What happened?"

"Nothing," he answered quickly. "I'm fine."

"You collapsed."

"I'm okay."

"But-"

"He's fine," Jack interrupted her with a firm, calm voice. "I'll take care of Ianto. You should get back to your break, Gwen."

Ianto nodded at her. He felt her squeeze his shoulder and then he heard her walking away. The door to the balcony closed.

Jack helped Ianto to sit in the chair and handed him a glass of water. Then he pulled up a chair for himself and sat down as close to Ianto as he could get. His blue eyes were serious. "I may not be a good empath but I can see when someone is trying to use it."

Ianto sighed but nodded in agreement.

Jack leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "How long have you been practising?"

"Since our return from Scotland."

"Two weeks," Jack said, raising an eyebrow. "Can I presume that Archie has something to do with this?"

"He showed me how to do it. He said that, with a little practice, I could become better."

"Did he also say that you should practice behind my back?" Suppressed anger was lurking in Jack's voice.

Ianto swallowed and ducked his head. "No."

"He had his reasons." Jack pointed a finger at him. His voice was quiet and tense, as if Gwen being near was the only thing that kept him from becoming louder. "Empathy isn't a game, Ianto. It is an intrusion into the privacy of others and the fact that you are using it is unfair to the team members who have no idea about your abilities. Torchwood has rules for empaths and one of them is that any empathy used has to be reported to the director."

"Yes, sir. Sorry, I ... wasn't thinking." He looked up at Jack. "I just wanted to practise."

Jack let out a breath and his face relaxed. "Ianto, empathy is a dangerous thing. Useful, but dangerous. Not for others but for yourself. You don't want to always know what others feel, believe me."

"But if it's useful ..." Ianto stared at Jack firmly. "... and I have this ability, then I should be able to use it."

Jack sighed deeply and closed his eyes. "Stubborn."

"Yes, sir."

"But it's a decision that affects the entire team. Everyone must know about it and agree. It's not the same as reading their minds but you'll still be able to notice things that they would rather keep secret. If they agree, we will think about training. Together."

Ianto nodded. "Alright."

The door to the boardroom opened and Owen entered. "Jack, I've got something that might fall into our area of expertise." 

***

"Lynn Pierce, Carys Fletcher and Max Tresilian," Owen said and waited for the names to sink in. The team had gathered in the boardroom and Owen had now taken the lead over the meeting. "Who can tell me three things these people have in common? You'll get a gold star as a reward."

"We don't give out gold stars anymore," Jack said with a twinkle in his eye, then he became serious and folded his hands on the table. "And they're connected to us."

Owen nodded. "100 points to the gentleman wearing the braces." He woke the projector from standby mode and projected the pictures of the three from the case files on the wall. "Lynn Pierce," he said, pointing to the blonde middle-aged woman, "was the mother of Jasmine Pierce who was kidnapped by the Fairies." He pointed at the young woman. "Carys Fletcher was briefly taken over by an alien and nearly killed. And …" He nodded at the dangerous-looking man. "... Max Tresilian, the newest member of the Torchwood fan club. Our ex-colleague Suzie forced him to commit murder."

Tosh pointed out something else they had in common, "All three took Retcon."

Owen nodded. "Successfully so. They couldn't remember anything that was related to us. Mrs. Pierce thought that Jasmine died in a car accident, we told Carys that someone in the club she frequented put drugs in her drink and we gave Max an alibi for the murders – he believed that he spent a few very intimate days with a woman in Glasgow."

Tosh sighed. She remembered the work she had had to put into inserting Max into the CCTV footage of a hotel. "What's the last thing they have in common?" she asked.

"All three have committed suicide in the last twenty-four hours."

Gwen's eyes widened in shock. "They're dead?"

Owen nodded and pointed at the picture of Lynn Pierce. "Jumped from a parking garage," then to Carys, "slit her wrists in the loo of a nightclub," and then Max, "shot himself in a mall."

Ianto stirred his coffee. "Pretty public."

Gwen nodded affirmatively. "A lot of witnesses."

Owen continued, "Everyone wrote something on their arm before they died."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Please don't say that it was the word _Torchwood_."

"No, it was _D12, 10_."

Gwen frowned. "What does that mean?"

Tosh noticed that Ianto was staring thoughtfully into his cup. His lips moved, repeating the numbers and letters a few times as if he was checking a mental database. It wouldn't surprise her. Ianto had a photographic memory. That was one of the reasons why he was so good at his job as an archivist.

Owen shrugged. "We should find out. Maybe it has something to do with the suicides." He looked at Jack. "According to the autopsy reports, the cases have all landed on the desk of our favourite DI."

Jack showed a broad grin and his eyes sparkled. "Kathy." He stood up. "I bet she misses me. Owen, we should pay her a visit." He shoved his hands into his trouser pockets and took charge. "Gwen, make yourself familiar with the police reports and look for other suicides among people who are connected to us. Tosh, the sensors. Make sure there were no unusual Rift activities that could explain this. We can't rule out a connection. Ianto, the archives. I can't remember similar cases but maybe I'm wrong. Look also for _D12, 10_." With that, he waved Owen to follow him, and they left the boardroom. 

Gwen sighed deeply. ”God, I hope this has nothing to do with us.”

Tosh nodded. She was hoping the same. The incident with Suzie just a week ago had left the team shaken. Suzie had proven that working for Torchwood could drive a person mad enough to kill and crazy enough to create a plan that would enable them to come back from the dead, not caring about the consequences. Jack didn't show it but Tosh could see that killing Suzie again had been hard on him. She also saw that he and Ianto seemed to spend a lot of time together and she was relieved – she knew that Ianto would take care of Jack. 

She startled when Ianto reached for her mug. ”More coffee?” he asked. 

Tosh realized that Gwen was gone and cleared her throat, a bit embarrassed about becoming distracted when there was a case to work on. ”Yeah. Thank you.”

He smiled and left.

***

It wasn't that Kathy Swanson didn't like Jack Harkness. He was certainly knowledgeable and seemed to do everything to protect his team, and apart from the fact that he'd managed to get trapped in his own base, he seemed to be intelligent as well. What she had a problem with, however, was the fact that Torchwood just barged into police work and snatched up their cases whenever they wanted to. Without an explanation as to why. All they got in the end were reports dripping with lies. Cardiff was a city where strange things happened. Like these suicides. Kathy wanted to have one of the strange cases long enough to be able to figure out the truth – just to know what Torchwood kept hidden. But it looked as though she wouldn't get a chance anytime soon.

When she looked up from her third cup of coffee, she noticed Harkness making his way through the office towards her desk, wearing his vintage military coat like a cape and carrying a charming smile on his handsome face. Confident of victory. She wasn't willing to give in without a fight, though. "Don't even think about it, Harkness."

"The suicides," he said firmly, leaning both hands on her desk, "fall into our jurisdiction."

Kathy successfully ignored the part of her subconscious which imagined having a candlelight dinner and more with Harkness ... he was definitely worth every wistful sigh that followed him. She focused on her job. "Why?"

"I could ask the Prime Minister to explain," Harkness answered and his arrogant smile was that of a spoiled child that always got what they wanted.

Kathy bit her lip. "I want to get your report once you're done."

"Of course."

"Your full report," Kathysaid pointedly. "Don't think that I believed the story you fed us about the serial killer case a week ago."

"I can't promise you that, Kathy," Harkness said.

She pulled a reluctant grimace but knew that she had no chance. Harkness hadn't been kidding when he'd dropped the Prime Minister's title. "Fine." She handed him the file. "It's clear that I lost. Since you've got the Prime Minister behind you."

He winked at her, his blue eyes sparkling with triumph. "Don't be angry, Kathy. Just trust me when I tell you that this case falls within our area of expertise."

She snorted derisively.

Harkness held up the file. "Give me the latest highlights."

"Why don't you find out yourself? You can read, can't you?"

Harkness raised an eyebrow. "I don't think this is the time for games."

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "One of the victims, Carys Fletcher ... for two weeks, her diary has a new appointment added. Every evening at seven – _Apollyon_. That's all we know. I did some research but I couldn't find anything about it. At least nothing that seemed relevant."

A thoughtful frown had dug itself into Harkness's face. " _Apollyon_?"

"The diary is in the file."

"Alright. Thanks." He turned away.

"Harkness," Kathy called after him and he looked curiously at her. "When you're ready to hand over your without a doubt correct report on the events, please make sure your secretary drops it off." Harkness raised his eyebrows in surprise. Kathy casually shrugged and smiled. "He's more polite," she explained, "and I'd believe anything a man with eyes like his would tell me."

Harkness laughed. "I'll tell him that he has fans around here." He winked and turned to go.

Kathy began to write an e-mail to her boss to tell him that Torchwood had taken over the case. Again and again, a smile crept on her lips, even though she tried to suppress it. "Bloody bastard," she muttered. 

***

When Jack asked Ianto over the headset to look up the word _Apollyon_ in their archives, Ianto was barely able to mask his surprise. The name wasn't unfamiliar to Ianto but he wanted to make sure that he wasn't mistaken before telling Jack so. He'd told Jack that he'd look for the name and stopped the search engine from trying to find a reference to _D12, 10_ – he knew it was useless. _Apollyon_ on the other hand ...

Ianto was standing in front of the wall of filing cabinets containing the documents belonging to artifacts, personnel files and case reports, and, without further hesitation, opened the drawer labeled _Ton-Toz_. His fingers found the pile of records which he had recently put in there. He took the file out and closed the drawer, then put the folder on his desk and crossed his arms. His gaze wandered through the large main room of the archives, the rows of shelves filled with over a century of artifacts which had come through the Rift. Over a century of secrets. The archives were just like Jack himself in that regard. He'd also been here for over a century and he had secrets. Ianto wondered if all of this was coincidence. He'd read the file that was now lying so innocently on his desk directly after their case in Scotland – out of interest and curiosity. The folder was thick but still as good as new – maybe nobody but him had ever read it.

He reached out a hand, smoothing his thumb over the label on the file which announced in black letters the title:

_Torchwood 4_

With a determined sigh, he sat down and began to leaf through the pages until he found what he was looking for. An e-mail from January 15th 2000, written by Torchwood 4 director Janice Abston to Jack.

_Captain Harkness,_

_My sincere condolences to the events on New Year's Eve. I knew Alex in person and can hardly grasp the fact that he didn't just kill himself, but also the people he was responsible for. I can imagine that your situation right now is anything but easy but I feel obligated to remind you that Alex has agreed to install the Rift Manipulator and carry out experiments (Project 'Apollyon'). It would be of great importance for us to start these experiments soon._

_Janice Abston  
Torchwood 4_

Apparently, Jack had never answered because the next page was also the last in the file. There were only a few words on it but they said it all.

_Your Majesty,  
following your command and our recommendation:_

_Torchwood 4 officially neutralized_

And underneath, three signatures: Yvonne Hartmann, Archie McIntyre and Captain Jack Harkness.


	4. Chapter 4

**3.**

 

Jack tapped his fingers on the steering wheel while he was waiting for Owen in front of the morgue. Rain was drumming on the roof of the SUV, passers-by with umbrellas hurried past the car and into the warm shops and flats. A few windows already bore Christmas decorations. It was only November and it wouldn't be Christmas for another month. If the people of the 21st century weren't celebrating something, they were preparing for a festivity. Jack sometimes wondered why they needed special occasions to come together. The holidays always seemed to be more of a burden than relaxation.

Jack was pulled from his thoughts when Owen opened the door and dropped into the passenger seat with a sigh. He ran a hand through his short hair that was sticking to his head wetly.

Jack asked, "Something new?"

"Not really. The coroner told me the same thing that was already in the reports. Suicide, the code on the arms, no doubt written by the victims, no drugs in the bloodstream and aside from the cause of deaths no injuries."

Jack sighed thoughtfully and started the car.

Owen gave him a sidelong glance. "Okay, let's talk about the elephant in the room right now."

Jack threaded the SUV into the traffic. "Retcon?"

"Retcon."

Jack shook his head firmly. "Impossible."

"Hey, just recently, we found out that people become psychotic-"

"To be fair, Suzie was influencing him. There's no evidence that Max would have started that killing spree without her interference."

Owen sighed deeply. "I don't like it anymore than you do, Jack, but there are no indications to the contrary. Retcon is a drug that affects the brain chemistry. We should be really careful with it."

"It's safe," Jack replied stubbornly. "I should know, I've developed it – for the use on Earth anyway."

"Liar," Owen replied sarcastically. "I've read Torchwood One's files. They invented it."

"They just said that they did on a UNIT conference. I was in fact the one who adapted Retcon for Earth use in the 30s with permission of the Torchwood Three director Constantine Jane. I spent months in the archives and in the laboratory until I found ways to replace alien chemicals with those you can find on Earth. Just because Torchwood put their label on it in the 40s doesn't mean that they invented it. They only gave it an official name: B67."

From the corner of his eye, he could see that Owen was staring at him incredulously. "Are you serious? You invented Retcon?"

He smiled. "No, I made Retcon usable for Earth." Owen's surprised stare didn't abate and Jack shrugged. "Believe it or not, I can do that sort of thing. But I'm not an expert." He glanced at Owen. "That's what I've got you for." 

***

Ianto shifted nervously and adjusted his tie when the alarm announced that Jack and Owen had returned. Gwen and Tosh looked curiously from their desks to the cogwheel door. Jack's decisive entrance was already sufficient to tell them that the trip had been a success. He was holding a file in his hand and smiled when his eyes met Ianto's. Ianto gave him a timid smile in response and was glad when Jack's attention turned to Gwen and Tosh. "Everyone to the boardroom. Meeting in five minutes!" He went past the team's desks to his office and Ianto followed him, taking a calming breath. Jack smiled when he saw Ianto in the door and hung up his coat. "Found anything?"

"Yes," Ianto replied vaguely.

"Well," Jack said, giving him the report. "I need copies for all of us. And coffee, please." Ianto nodded but he made no move to obey orders. Jack acknowledged this with a frown and a questioning look at Ianto before he quickly checked his e-mails. "What are you waiting for? Meeting starts in five minutes."

"I have to talk to you. In private."

Jack stood up and walked around his desk. With folded arms, he leaned against it. "This sounds serious."

"You will want to close the door," Ianto said.

"Do I?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes."

Jack pushed off the desk with a sigh and gave the door a gentle kick. Ianto noted that the others looked curiously at them when the door slammed shut but he focused on Jack. He was aware that the team could see them through the half-open blinds, but at least they could speak freely now. His hands tightened their grip around the files.

Jack was back to leaning against the desk and crossed his arms. He was no longer amused and curious. He was tense and suspicious. "So?"

Ianto swallowed. He usually had no trouble telling Jack his opinion or to ask difficult questions, but he felt that this issue was anything but easy. "You have secrets. That's okay. And you know I don't mind keeping them to myself but if they coincide with our work – especially with a current case – you should be honest from the start. You could have saved me two hours of work today. The moment you heard about _Apollyon_ , you should have been honest with me – with all of us."

Jack stared at him. His face had become a completely neutral mask. "Are you done?" he asked quietly.

Ianto nodded.

"Okay." Jack took a deep breath. " _Apollyon_ means nothing to me. Whatever you think you found ..." He trailed off when Ianto held up the Torchwood Four file.

"Torchwood Four had a project named _Apollyon_. Janice Abston mentioned it to you."

"Did she?"

"In an e-mail."

"I don't remember."

"It was in the last e-mail that she wrote to you."

Jack snagged the file from Ianto's hand and opened it at the marked point. He read the e-mail. Then he looked up at Ianto. "It was one e-mail. Years ago. I forgot about it."

"Really? She mentions _Apollyon_ and the next thing that happens is the neutralization of Torchwood Four and you can't remember it?"

Jack closed his eyes and shut the file. "The neutralization of Torchwood Four had nothing to do with _Apollyon_."

Ianto swallowed. Until that moment, there had been the small possibility that it was all a misunderstanding and that Jack and the other Torchwood branches had had nothing to do with the disappearance of Torchwood Four. "It was really you? You neutralized Torchwood Four."

Jack shook his head earnestly. "I can't answer that. This was a matter between the Queen and the Torchwood directors." He put the file on his desk and massaged his forehead. "You know I ... am supposed to give you Retcon now."

Ianto nodded. He had already suspected that. "What's stopping you?"

"You've always kept my secrets, Ianto. I trust that you're still doing that."

"It has to do with this case."

"It doesn't. It has nothing to do with this case."

"We need to keep an open mind."

Jack stepped closer to him, his hands on his hips. "Until there is no clear evidence to suggest that Torchwood Four-"

"There is one word."

"A word is nothing!" Jack snapped. He was only slightly taller than Ianto but when he was angry, Ianto couldn't help but feel intimidated. However, he tried not to show it. Jack pointed a finger at him. "Don't you dare mention this in front of the others, Ianto. It's in the past."

Ianto shook his head. "Torchwood Four is still out there, Jack. You heard Jake Adams. They brought Torchwood One down and we're next on their list."

"The words of a thief is all we have, Ianto. No evidence. And as long as there is no evidence, we will keep this just between us. Is that understood?"

Ianto stared at Jack for a long moment, then nodded slowly. He knew that he had no other choice at the moment and Jack was right. Still, there was no clear evidence to disprove that Torchwood Four was connected either. "Understood, sir."

Jack nodded and walked to the door.

"Sir," Ianto said, "and if it's true? How dangerous is Torchwood Four?"

Jack turned to face him. "You know what Torchwood One did, you know that UNIT doesn't have a clean slate and that things here aren't always so great either. The fact that we had to intervene – with all that knowledge in mind – should be answer enough for you." 

***

" _D12, 10_ ," Jack said, leaning back in his chair. He and Owen had just informed the others about their findings at the police station and the coroner. He looked at Tosh who was sitting next to him with her laptop and then Ianto who had taken a seat beside Gwen. "Tosh? Ianto?"

Ianto shook his head and avoided Jack's eyes.

Jack ignored the gesture and turned to Tosh instead who said, "No results."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "And what about _Apollyon_?"

"I'm still looking for daily events taking place in Cardiff with this title or subject. So far, nothing." She looked at Ianto who was staring into his coffee stubbornly.

Gwen frowned. "Ianto?"

He raised his head and looked at her. "I have found nothing of relevance in the archives."

"Well, I've read the police file," said Gwen. "The victims' families and friends were asked about _Apollyon_ but nobody could give any indication as to what it is. Although some of them confirmed that the victims have been attending some sort of meeting over the last few weeks, but apparently, they didn't want to talk about it."

Tosh sipped her coffee. "My search engine is looking through the internet. Blogs, event pages, social networks ... I hope to get some good results."

Owen wobbled his chair. "I don't want to play the expert, but ... _Apollyon_ sounds mythical."

Ianto cleared his throat. "It is." He looked at Jack as he explained, "Nothing in our archives, but I could follow the meaning of the name. It's Greek and means something like 'angel of the abyss'. Apparently the Greek synonym for a Hebrew figure named Abaddon. Initially, the word had a connection to the realm of the dead but was later personified as the Destroyer who will return at the end of all days."

"And that tells us nothing," Owen said.

"Many myths have some truth to them."

Jack nodded. "Wouldn't be the first alien that was misunderstood as a god or a monster."

Owen sighed. "Well, I hope that this alien has been dead for a while. The Destroyer sounds majorly like overtime."

Jack smiled, amused, before he became serious again. "So, we have suicides. People who are connected to Torchwood. They write _D12, 10_ on their arms and take part in an event called _Apollyon_. "

Gwen supported her head in one hand thoughtfully. "A cult perhaps? But why only people who are connected to us?"

Owen rolled his eyes. "Right, if this _Apollyon_ thing is a group, who says that all of them are connected to us?”

”Three of them are.”

”This is Cardiff. I'd estimate every other person is somehow connected to our cases.”

Gwen frowned. ”Fine, I'm just pointing out what a big of a coincidence it is.”

”Both of you,” Jack said, raising a hand, ”let's wait and see. For now, we assume both – that there is a connection to us ...” He looked at Ianto. ”... but also that there isn't.”

Owen clapped his hands. ”Well then, assuming that they are connected to us: I hate to bring this up, but what about Retcon?"

Jack grimaced. "We must keep that in mind. For now, we'll turn our attention to all our recent cases and see if anyone follows the same pattern the suicide victims did."

Tosh nodded. "I'll check their e-mails and computers."

Gwen looked questioningly at Jack. "Shouldn't we warn them?"

"From what?" Jack asked. "Killing themselves?"

Ianto explained, "We don't have the resources to monitor these people. We just have to hope that we'll solve this quickly enough to prevent more suicides."

"Hope?" Gwen asked. "Is that all we can do?"

"No," Jack answered. "You can search the police reports for the term _Apollyon_. Look for cults, suspicious groups, for anything that can lead us to the source. Owen, do you want to perform a second autopsy on the victims?"

"No." He tilted the chair back further, holding onto the table. "That wouldn't help. I have looked at the bodies, talked to the pathologist, read the reports. She is good and the reports are immaculate. No open questions. But I'm going to see if anyone who is connected to us is now in therapy or medical treatment. Perhaps because of depression, insomnia ..."

Jack nodded. "Good. Ianto, you can help wherever you're needed."

Ianto nodded but he didn't look Jack in the eyes.

Jack was aware that they would have to talk about Torchwood Four again eventually. At the moment, though, they had other things to worry about. Gwen, Owen and Tosh were preparing to leave but Jack held up a hand. "Just a moment of your time, please. I know we're busy but we always are, so this moment is as good as any. I want you to think about something and I mean really think about it." He looked at Owen warningly.

"What?" he asked. "Why do I always get that look?"

Jack ignored the question. "Ianto asked for permission to train his empathic abilities. This means that he would be able to read emotions and moods of others and project his own emotions onto others."

Silence fell over the boardroom table.

Finally, Gwen said awkwardly, "Excuse me. Empathic abilities, projecting ...?"

"You know of telepathy," Jack said. "The ability to read minds."

Gwen nodded.

"Empathy is basically the same, but limited to emotions. An empath can feel if you're angry, sad, excited ... they can't know the reason for those feelings without asking but they know how you feel. Empaths can also transfer moods ... project them. He could make you angry, sad, calm you down ... a good empath with bad intentions could manipulate you to kill someone out of hate."

Owen raised an eyebrow. "You're not exactly selling this very well."

"I'm just being honest. And Ianto is not an empath with bad intentions. Right now, he isn't even an empath. He has empathic abilities that are expandable. Might be useful someday." He looked around. "But he will only be trained if everyone here agrees. After all, he would be able to know which mood you are in and that can be very intimate."

Ianto looked down on the table as all eyes turned to him and blushed a little. Jack smiled. It was hard to make Ianto nervous.

After a moment of silence, Jack said, "Think about it. Should you have any questions, come to me and I'll try to answer them." He smiled at everyone. "That's it for now."


	5. Chapter 5

**4.**

 

Gwen sighed deeply and leaned back in her chair. Frustrated, she stared at her computer screen. "That was a waste of time. No reports or messages about _Apollyon_ , no new police reports about people connected to us ..." She turned her chair to look at Ianto who was sitting next to her with his laptop. "What have you got?"

He didn't respond, just stared at his monitor. He was clearly not focussed, though, because his eyes were absent and thoughtful. Gwen heard Tosh's high heels click on the tiles of the main Hub and saw her entering Jack's office. She turned back to Ianto. "Ianto?"

"What?" He looked up at her, his bright eyes a bit startled.

Gwen smiled. "Ianto Jones, not highly focussed on the job? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said quickly and closed the laptop. "Nothing at all. I was just ... distracted." He gave her a slightly embarrassed smile. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she replied. "I think I'm going home."

He checked his watch. "Yes. That's probably a good idea." He stood up and straightened his jacket, glancing searchingly around the main Hub.

"Ianto?" Gwen asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" He turned to her.

She took a deep breath and gently said, "Don't get me wrong, empathy might be a good thing sometimes, but I'm a bit worried."

His face was serious and he nodded in understanding. "I can only give you my word that I won't invade your privacy. Even if I should catch emotions, I'll keep them to myself."

"I'm not worried about me," Gwen said. "I'm worried about you." Ianto frowned in surprise and Gwen explained, "What happens if you soak up too many negative emotions? And you could never talk to someone again without knowing how they really felt. It's as if you were a lie detector, you know? Sometimes, I know that I don't want to know what people think about me."

Ianto nodded slowly. "I've been thinking about that. I can live with that."

"Are you sure? You're not just doing this because Jack wants you to?"

"I'm doing it because I think it might be useful." He looked honestly hurt because of her guess at his motives.

She quickly tried to fix the damage. "Ianto-"

"I want to do more than just making coffee or filing, Gwen. I don't have your connections to the police or Tosh's understanding of technology or Owen's doctorate."

"This is about you thinking you need to prove yourself," Gwen concluded.

Ianto shrugged. "No, I just want to pull my weight." With that, he turned away.

"Ianto," Gwen called after him.

He turned back around to her.

"If you're sure ..." She smiled. "... I don't mind."

Ianto nodded gratefully. "Thank you." 

***

When Gwen packed her bag to go home, Tosh was already gone. One of the rare cases where she left earlier than Gwen. Her search engine was working through the e-mails and computers of the people connected to Torchwood. There were still no results. Just like with her own research and Gwen was a bit discouraged. They didn't seem to make any progress and at any second, someone else could committ suicide again.

As she put on her jacket, Owen leaned back in his chair and called, "Jack! I can't find anything. The medical records don't indicate depression or other reasons for suicide!"

Jack appeared in the door to his office. "Then go home." He looked at Gwen. "You too. We'll try a new approach tomorrow." With that, he returned to his office and closed the door. Only a moment later, soft music filtered outside. It was the typical sign that the team was dismissed and Jack wanted to begin his free evening – without company. Since he lived in the Hub, it always seemed difficult for him to set boundaries between his private life and work, so the team respected these small gestures. Sometimes, Gwen wondered why he didn't just move into a flat but more than once, she had heard Jack say that there should always be someone in the Hub.

She smiled at Ianto who was entering Jack's office with a cup of coffee and a plate of biscuits. The last gesture for the evening before he would leave as well.

Gwen waited until Ianto was out of earshot and then went over to Owen. "I could come home with you," she said softly.

He shook his head. "I'll sleep here in the Hub."

Gwen stared at him in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

"Anita and her babies. I didn't have time for them all afternoon and Tosh set up some monitors in one of the guest quarters so I can watch them. I'm going to sleep there for a few hours."

Gwen grinned with amusement. "Owen Harper prefers Weevils over sex?"

He shrugged his shoulders and gave her a grin. "Don't take it personally."

She winked at him. "All right. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah." He took his jacket and backpack and headed for the depths of the Hub, towards the guest quarters.

Gwen looked after him and sighed. She checked her watch. Rhys would meet some friends and probably be home late, if he managed not to fall asleep on Banana Boat's couch. She didn't want to go home. Ianto chose that moment to leave Jack's office again and Gwen smiled at him. "Fancy a beer?"

"I have work to do," Ianto answered.

Gwen sighed, disappointed, smiled and left. 

***

Owen tucked his gun into his waistband and looked at Anita, who was huddling in a corner of the cell with her babies, watching him suspiciously. Owen smiled at her and opened the door to the cell.

Anita growled softly. Owen raised both hands and stepped cautiously inside. He didn't go more than two steps, leaving the door open, keeping an eye on Anita. She stared at him as if she wasn't quite sure what he wanted from her, but she stopped growling.

Owen crouched down – ready to retreat, should it be necessary – and leaned against the cool damp wall of the cell block. "Hi, Anita," he said softly. He took a tennis ball out of his leather jacket and showed it to her, then rolled it slowly towards her.

Anita growled again, but she stopped when the ball stopped in the middle of the room. She looked up at Owen. He smiled. 

***

Ianto was aware that he should use a relatively quiet day like today and spend the evening at home. It was rare enough that this happened. But in his flat, there was nothing waiting for him besides a half-empty fridge, so he rather did some overtime and get ahead on some work. Re-organizing the archives would take him years, but Ianto liked the work. It gave him peace when he needed it.

"You're still here?" Jack asked from the door and Ianto turned to face him, startled.

Then he closed the cabinet and sat back down at his desk. "Yes." Jack's eyes strayed to the documents Ianto was holding. Ianto turned away, placing the folder on his desk before he sat down and opened the one on the top. "And I'm not reading about Torchwood Four, don't worry."

"I'm removing that file from the archives," Jack said.

Ianto looked at him in surprise. "Why?"

"Nobody should be able to access it."

"I'm the only one down here and I know it already."

Jack looked away and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Ianto turned around to him completely. "What happened to Torchwood Four, Jack? What did you do?"

Jack's blue eyes met his – decided yet closed off. "We saved the world."

Ianto's eyes narrowed. "Is that all I'm going to get?"

"Yes."

Ianto nodded slowly and then looked back down at the file. "I would like to go to Flat Holm tomorrow, if you can spare me."

Jack put his hands on his hips. "I think so. It's not as if we're making progess in the _Apollyon_ case. What do you want out there?"

Ianto ran his palm over the lid of the uppermost folder. "I want to take another look around. Last time was my first time there and I ... think I was too overwhelmed to really see." He closed his eyes in order to suppress the images of the traumatized patients in their cheerless rooms, living in a former munition bunker on the small island Flat Holm. He couldn't imagine what it was like to be sucked into the Rift and spat out again – having seen things that exceeded the imagination of a 21st century person. "This time ..." He looked up at Jack. "I want to look at the patients, looking for ways to help the nurses there. I could take on some of the administration work like shift schedules or vacation requests. We should be thinking about ordering supplys more often." He sighed. "I know you don't want to involve the others, but maybe you should reconsider. They could help."

"How?" Jack asked. "I don't want the others to know. I have my reasons, Ianto." He ducked his head, then he said more gently, "You can go first thing tomorrow morning."

Ianto nodded gratefully.

"Are you finished here?" Jack asked.

Ianto could figure what Jack really wanted to know. He looked away. "Not today."

Jack accepted this without letting Ianto see if he was disappointed. "You know where to find me if you change your mind?"

Ianto nodded.

Jack turned to go, but at the door, he paused. "Ianto." He hesitated a moment. "Torchwood Four ... we had to stop them."

Ianto swallowed, nodded and smiled hesitantly. "Okay." He trusted Jack. He really did.

He just hoped that he was doing the right thing. 

***

Owen's legs were already beginning to fall asleep and his calf was cramping, but just when he decided to sit down a little more comfortably, something happened. One of the little Weevils approached him curiously.

"Hi," Owen said softly. He felt Anita's attentive eyes on him and tried not to make any sudden moves as he leaned forward and reached out a hand invitingly. The Weevil sniffed carefully and came a little closer.

"That's it," Owen said, "come here." He looked at Anita while the baby approached him slowly. Her eyes were fixed on him, but she didn't seem aggressive. Just careful. The baby's little claws touched Owen's knee and he looked down. He smiled. "Hi," he repeated. The baby looked up at him and let out a soft noise that sounded like the cooing of a dove.

"Okay, time for your first tests," Owen said and reached into his medical bag. Anita stared at him, but she was surprisingly calm.

"We're going to do this slowly and carefully and then maybe your mother will let me have a look at your siblings as well." He felt a little silly to talk to the Weevil, but he was nervous. He'd spent the weeks before trying to win Anita's trust, taking over feeding duties and sitting in her cell, so that she maybe would allow him to study her babies. Now he was grateful for his foresight, because it seemed to pay off. "Okay," he said, "let's start with the basics: Boy or girl?"


	6. Chapter 6

**5.**

 

"Jack," Owen said and walked into his office without knocking.

Jack looked up from the UNIT report on his desk and rolled his eyes. "It's four in the morning, Owen. Does privacy mean anything to you?"

Owen frowned. "Since when do you care about that?"

Jack leaned back in his chair and smiled suggestively. "You should care about it. I could be naked. I could be-"

"Okay, please!" Owen interrupted him quickly. "Please don't give me more nightmares."

Jack laughed. "What's up?" he asked and put down the pen with which he'd taken notes.

"I was with the Weevils."

"I know." Jack nodded to the computer which stood on a side table at his desk. On the screen, the CCTV for Anita's cell was running. Although Jack knew that Owen could handle himself, Weevils could be just as unpredictable as wild animals. By keeping an eye on the situation, he felt like he was doing something to keep Owen out of trouble.

Owen didn't seem happy about that. "Stalker."

Jack understood that Owen sometimes struggled with feeling that Jack had no confidence in his abilities. He tried to prove the opposite to him every chance he got, but it wasn't easy with a job that put them in danger all the time. Jack felt responsible for his team and sometimes, he became a bit overprotective. He raised an eyebrow. "I have the right to be a little concerned if one of my team members is getting into a cage with a Weevil."

Owen put his hands on his hips. "I've been doing this for weeks."

"But now she has babies, Owen. And I know that you took your gun with you, but you didn't have it in your hand. I want to make sure that you know what you're doing."

Owen sighed deeply. "I know what I'm doing."

"Okay," Jack said, folding his hands on the desk. "What did you find out?"

"Four babies – three girls, one boy. All healthy, as far as I can see. The boy's a bit weak. I'll keep an eye on him."

"How long before we can drop them off in the sewers?"

Owen shrugged. "Give me a couple of weeks, maybe. At least until the babies are weaned. I want to see Anita teach them everything they need to know. I'll get Ianto to buy living food."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "And who will take care of the living food until it'll land on the menu?"

Owen raised his eyebrows. "Me, of course."

Jack turned his attention back to the report. "Good, Ianto really doesn't need more work."

"I'm taking a nap for a few hours."

"Okay," Jack replied and, with a grin, added, "Sweet dreams."

"Bite me, Harkness."

Jack laughed. 

***

The Rift Manipulator was a marvel of engineering for its time. It was able to open the Rift fully. Jack had never been happy about it being installed in Torchwood Three, but he was outvoted.

The manipulator had been developed by Torchwood Four. The decision to install it in Cardiff had been only logical: It was the only branch situated close to an active Rift. The installation was the first incident that had prompted Jack to cut ties with the other branches. Alex had agreed to install the manipulator in 1999 and then killed himself. Torchwood One and Four had still insisted on the installation and Jack – still too new in the role of the leader, too weak after the losses – had given in. The machine with the controls had been installed underground and the transmitter that sent out the energy necessary to open the Rift, had been installed at the top of the water tower which had been built for that purpose in 2000.

Jack now remembered the e-mail that Ianto had shown him. He hadn't responded out of wounded pride and bitterness. After he'd been practically forced to let Torchwood Four install the machinery, he had refused anyone entrance into his Hub. A year later, it had been decided to neutralize Torchwood Four and the manipulator was never mentioned again by Torchwood One. Since it would be too complicated to dismantle the machine, it was still there and algae had accumulated on its mirrored surface beneath the Earth, while the tourists above ground took pictures of themselves posing in front of the polished surface.

Jack stared at his reflection thrown back to him from the tower, stained with algae and moss, and tried to figure out what would have happened if they'd activated the manipulator back then. What would have happened if they had opened the Rift?

Tosh's excited voice brought him back to the present, "I've got something." He turned around and hurried to her desk. Gwen had also joined her and Owen was still rolling his desk chair closer while Tosh explained, "Among all the hits my program had on the internet, it found one that makes sense for our problem. Apollyon is mentioned in a blog. The blogger is a Zachary Wallis, a friend of Bernie."

Owen's eyes widened. "Harris?" he asked. "Really?"

Jack needed a moment to place the name, but then he remembered the young man from Splott who could see the past thanks to alien technology.

"Yes," Tosh said, grinning. "Apparently, Bernie has been to a few of those meetings over the last weeks. They call themselves the Shadow Cult and they worship the God Apollyon. Zachary wanted to go with Bernie, but he was turned away at the door. Another interesting fact: Bernie only ever started to go there because he was approached by members of the cult."

"Seriously?" Owen asked. "Cults become picky now?"

Jack looked at him. "If they only want people with a connection to Torchwood, that would make perfect sense, don't you think?"

Owen shrugged.

Gwen looked at Tosh curiously. "Is Bernie still alive?"

"Yes."

"Where are the meetings being held?"

"Belmont Baptist Church in Taymuir Road. Near Tremorfa Park."

"And we know the time," Gwen said, "from Carys's calendar. Every day at seven."

Jack clapped his hands. "Then we're going to go out tonight and have a look."

Tosh raised a hand. "Not so fast. Zachary mentions something interesting. Apparently, Bernie told him that although the meetings are led by a woman, the cult is led by a man they call the Eldest. He seems to have exceptional abilities."

"Define exceptional," Owen said.

"He makes people disappear and reappear."

Jack looked at Owen with a raised eyebrow. "Exceptional enough?"

Owen sighed. "Perfect." 

***

Ianto was welcomed in Flat Holm by Helen as soon as he'd entered the facility. Helen had been employed as the head of the facility by Jack after he'd received the command of Torchwood Three and she had his full trust. Ianto could understand why. Her presence was reassuring and the patients seemed to like her. She welcomed Ianto with a warm smile and led him into the small kitchen, which was just as dismal as the rest of the decor. But it was clean and a few pictures on the walls at least attempted to lighten the atmosphere.

When Helen set down a mug of tea in front of Ianto, she said, "We were wondering if we'd see you again."

Ianto raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really? Why?"

Helen sat down in the chair opposite him with a weary sigh. "Flat Holm ... it can be hard to deal with. We had more than one dedicated nurse or doctor who never returned after they came here once." Ianto could understand that only too well. For a while, he'd doubted himself that he would ever again return to Flat Holm. Helen's round face showed a smile and her dark eyes sparkled with amusement. "On the other hand, I trust Jack. If he brings you here, then I can rely on you staying." She took a sip of tea. "He seems to trust you a lot."

Ianto didn't quite know what to say to that, so he changed the subject. "I'd like to take a look around, talk to the nurses and you. I think I can save you a lot of paper work by doing it myself. There are things that can be controlled via e-mail. Holiday requests and the like. I could make the shift schedules."

Helen raised her eyebrows. "That sounds like a lot of work for you. After all, you do have another job. Jack doesn't tell us much, but I know that there are dangerous missions."

Ianto smiled. "I'm not like Jack or his team. I'm responsible for organizational matters and not often in the field."

"Well," Helen said, "I won't fight too much, if you want to take work off my shoulders. Nursing is hard enough."

Ianto nodded in understanding. "I was overwhelmed when I came here the first time. I'm afraid I didn't understand everything. The patients – how much care do they need?"

Helen shrugged. "Most of them are relatively independent. They eat, they drink, they learn. But we have four cases that are very time consuming. Patients who can't move, are afraid of contact with other people and who don't understand that we want to help them." She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "And then there's Bleddyn."

"Bleddyn?" Ianto asked.

"That's what we call him. Jack says that he found him in a nursing home where he was admitted after he was found wandering the road between Newport and Cardiff." Helen looked like she didn't quite believe that. As far as Ianto knew, Jack had told the nurses here that their patients were victims of experimental medicine. A hard to believe story, considering that the staff was subject to the Official Secrets Act. Still, it sounded more logical than to explain to them that their patients had fallen through a rift in space and time. Helen stood up and poured her tea down the drain. Then she turned back to Ianto and put her hands on her wide hips. "Bleddyn is ... he eats what we give him, but he doesn't communicate. In any way. I'm worried about him, because I can't even say how he feels – whether he feels anything at all. Even our challenging patients express themselves – through tantrums or a smile. Bleddyn ... it's like he just exists."

Ianto looked at her thoughtfully. "It would help you to know how he feels."

"Yes."

Ianto nodded. "I think I can do something about that." 

***

Bleddyn's room was like the ones of the other patients hardly furnished. A bed with a bedside table and an old desk with a chair. Since the facility was situated in an old military bunker, there weren't even windows to brighten the sad atmosphere of the room, which was only reinforced by its resident. Bleddyn was a handsome young man with green, big eyes and brown hair that had clearly been cut by an amateur. His eyes were focussed on the wall, blank. He was sitting on the foot of his bed, his hands on his knees, motionless.

Helen, who was standing in the doorway with Ianto, looked up at him. "Bleddyn has been here about half a year now and yet, we know next to nothing about him. He's doing that since his first day here. He goes to bed at night and gets up in the morning, he goes to the bathroom, he eats, but that's all." She walked up to Bleddyn and put a hand on his shoulder. "Bleddyn, this is Ianto Jones, a friend of Jack."

Ianto smiled and stepped closer. "Hi."

Bleddyn was unresponsive.

Helen gave Ianto an encouraging nod. "I'll leave you alone. It's time to prepare dinner."

Ianto waited until Helen had closed the door before he grabbed the desk chair and sat down opposite Bleddyn. "Bleddyn," he said softly, "I'll try to read your feelings, okay? To help you." He pressed his back against the back of the chair. "Okay, I'm not very good at it, but it won't hurt." He closed his eyes and concentrated on his own feelings, slowly pushing them into the background in order to absorb the emotions close-by.

_Loneliness, impatience, sadness_

Ianto realized that he was dizzy, even though his eyes were closed. He swallowed and focused again, pushing his back firmly against the back of the chair and clenching her hands around the edge of the seat to anchor himself.

_Loneliness, impatience, triumph_

Ianto flinched when a hand touched him and he opened his eyes. Bleddyn was leaning forward and his hand was on Ianto's knee. He was looking him straight in the eye. Ianto looked back, stunned. "Bleddyn," he said, surprised.

_Joy_

Ianto stared at him.

_Joy_

Bleddyn looked back at him and he smiled.

"Oh, my God," Helen said from the doorway.

_Relief, joy_

Ianto swallowed and pushed the feelings down, putting his own back to the forefront. The room swayed a little, but Ianto got himself under control. Bleddyn was still smiling at him.

Helen asked, "How did you do that?"

Ianto had no idea.


	7. Chapter 7

**6.**

 

 _"Bleddyn,"_ Jack said and his voice sounded interested. _"You caused a reaction? I gave up on him. What did you do?"_

Ianto turned to the high cliffs of Flat Holm, looking towards Cardiff and breathing in the fresh sea air. Thanks to his warm coat and gloves, he could stand the cold, but he noticed winter approaching fast. Rain clouds crowded the sky over the Bristol Channel and threatened rain. Flat Holm was like a green dot between the gray sea and the equally gray sky. Ianto pressed the mobile to his ear and admitted, "I used my empathy."

For a moment, there was silence.

 _"Ianto,"_ Jack said then, angry. _"We talked about this."_

"I was outside the Hub, it was an exception."

_"There is never an exception, Ianto. Empathy is not child's play. You could hurt yourself if you don't build the ability in a slow and controlled way."_

"We were talking about Bleddyn and not empathy," Ianto reminded him.

Jack sighed. _"Look, I'm just worried. Flat Holm is barely prepared for things like psi shock."_

"Empathy doesn't cause psi shock."

_"But Bleddyn noticed that you were reading his emotions, Ianto. He may have increased mental abilities."_

Ianto had to admit that Jack was right and made a mental note to be more careful. "What do you know about him?" he asked to change the subject.

_"It was shortly after the Battle of Canary Wharf. We were still a little nervous about the Cybermen and UNIT helped to scan the entire world for Void energy. To find beings that came from the same place the Cybermen came from."_

"Okay," Ianto said. He still felt uneasy because they were lacking an exact answer as to where the Cyermen had come from. They only knew that they had to have come through the Void – a kind of border between the worlds and times, such as the Rift itself. The Void produced a form of energy that clung to everything that passed through it – like chronon particles pointing to time travel.

_"Of course, there were many results in Cardiff because of the Rift. We followed all of them up, but found only Weevils and the usual suspects. The rest of the world was clean. Although there were people carrying Void energy, the dosage was very small, indicating they were touched by the Cybermen. Then we found a signature in Newport, in a mental hospital."_

"Bleddyn," Ianto said.

 _"I found a high dose of Void energy on him,"_ Jack said. _"I examined him carefully, but couldn't find evidence that he was associated with the Cybermen. So I took him to Flat Holm. "_

"That's all we know?"

 _"Yes,"_ Jack answered. _"What you managed to do today is a real step forward."_

"Then I would like to stay."

_"I don't see why not. Over night?"_

"Maybe."

_"We have a lead in the Apollyon case, but you can stay on Flat Holm. Call me at around eight and let me know that everything is alright."_

"Okay."

 _“And, Ianto,”_ Jack added, _”no empathy. I'm serious. I'll put you on suspension if you don't listen to me, because I can't have you risking your life.”_

Ianto bit his lip, reluctant, but he knew that he didn't really have a choice in the matter. ”Yeah, alright.”

***

Owen set his laptop on the boardroom table, leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the table top. He stared at the flat screen on the wall, which transferred the images of the small cameras Gwen and Tosh were wearing. The two stood facing the Balmont Baptist Church. It was a relatively small building with landscaped grounds. Rain was dripping from the leaves of the trees that towered over the fence. Taymuir Road was close to Tremorfa Park and was characterized by well-kept family homes. Not even the rain and darkness were able to destroy the peaceful image. Owen wondered if the residents noticed that there was a cult meeting in their church. He suspected, however, that they hadn't the slightest idea.

Jack entered the conference room. "Anyone we know?" he asked and sat across from Owen. He clasped his hands on the boardroom table.

Gwen said, _"Bernie Harris just went in."_

Owen crossed his arms. "So we're definitely in the right place."

 _"The Shadow Cult is here,"_ Gwen confirmed.

Jack looked at the clock. "Almost seven. You should go."

 _"How do we know that they won't reject us at the door?"_ Gwen asked but began to walk towards the building. Tosh followed her.

"That's why we're sending you," Jack replied with a smile. "The two most beautiful. One smile from you and they'll let you in."

Owen added, "And while you're in there, sipping tea, we'll wait for you."

They could see that Gwen and Tosh slipped off their comm links and put them in their handbags, so they removed theirs as well. Owen looked at Jack. "What do you think is going on in there?"

Jack shrugged. "Hopefully, we'll know soon."

Gwen and Tosh went through the gate and stopped in front of the church's red-painted door. They knocked. Owen kept his eyes on the screen while he asked, "Where's Ianto?"

"I told you, he's out on a job for me."

Owen looked at Jack and raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "All day long?"

"Yes."

"Overnight?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

Jack threw Owen a sideways glance. "Confidential." He looked back at the screen.

Owen snorted. "I am your second-in-command, he's your secretary. Why can't I know what he knows?"

"I don't need to justify myself, Owen." He nodded to the screen, where somebody just opened the door for Gwen and Tosh. "And we have more important things to do."

***

Tosh threw Gwen one last nervous smile as the door was opened. A woman smiled at them. Her pretty face was framed by long blond hair and a friendly smile on her full lips was reflected in her blue eyes. "Hello," she said. "I'm sorry, we have a private meeting in progress tonight."

Tosh said quickly, "We know. Hi, we're Gwen and Tosh, friends of Carys's."

The young woman nodded sadly. "Oh! My condolences."

"Thank you," Gwen said. "She told us that she came here. We thought we'd stop by and see if you have heard about it yet."

"We did," the woman answered. "We were planning to hold a memorial service today." She cocked her head and showed a smile. "Do you want to join us?"

Gwen and Tosh looked at each other, hesitating a moment as arranged, and then Gwen said, "Thank you. We'd love to."

Tosh nodded. "Thank you."

The woman stepped aside and let them in. They went directly into the large main room of the church which was brightly lit by the overhead lights and several candles. The chairs were stacked along the walls. A group of about thirty people was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room. Some turned around to them curiously and for a moment, Tosh feared that they would be recognized, but then she remembered that everyone here had most likely taken Retcon and wouldn't know more about Torchwood than the odd rumour. Tosh recognized a few familiar faces, but she couldn't remember the names.

The young woman gestured invitingly to the group. "Sit down. By the way, I'm Jessica. I run the meetings."

Gwen and Tosh obeyed slowly and sat in the back row of the group. Tosh was careful to sit in a way that allowed the camera on her coat to focus on Jessica, who positioned herself in front of the group. Jessica nodded at Bernie Harris who switched off the lights, leaving only the candles to light the room, and then rejoined the group.

Jessica folded her hands. "Friends," she said, "today we welcome two visitors in our midst: Tosh and Gwen. Let's hope that they will find their truth and that today's meeting will only be the first of many." Jessica smiled at them. Then she became serious. "Unfortunately, we have to say goodbye to one of our members tonight. As we have learned, our sister Carys Fletcher has taken her own life."

Tosh noticed that a man a few rows in front of her pulling something out of the pocket of his hoodie, but in the dim lights of the candles, she couldn't see what it was. She also couldn't see his face, because he was wearing the hood pulled low over his forehead.

"We will remember Carys in silence," Jessica said. Then she sat down cross-legged. And didn't speak again. 

***

After his phone conversation with Jack, Ianto had returned to Bleddyn to have dinner with him. His attempts to get Bleddyn to talk had been unsuccessful, though. Bleddyn hadn't touched him again, either, he'd just looked at him with a quiet curiosity in his green eyes. Adhering to Jack's words, Ianto hadn't tried again to read Bleddyn's feelings, but his questions about where Bleddyn had come from hadn't been answered. With a sigh, he checked his watch. Soon, he would have to check in with Jack. Before he would do so, though, he would make one last attempt at communicating. "Can't you talk?" he asked.

Bleddyn looked at him. A slight smile touched his lips.

Leaning forward Ianto asked conspiratorially, "Don't you want to?"

Bleddyn's smile widened.

"You understand me. I'd like to know where you came from. Who you are."

Bleddyn didn't move.

Ianto stood up and ran a hand through his hair, pensive. A headache made itself known and he massaged his forehead. The migraine was so strong that even the dim lights of Bleddyn's room were almost unbearably bright.

And then he felt it. Another consciousness pushing against his, looking for a way through the barrier that lay protectively around his thoughts, memories and free will.

He whirled around to Bleddyn. Dizziness seized him and he stumbled back against the wall, gasping for air. He hadn't expected mental ailities with Bleddyn. According to Jack, there was actually no one in the 21st century who was able to break into the minds of others to control their thoughts and actions. But Torchwood One – always prepared for aliens who infiltrated in this way – had trained their staff to ward off such attacks. Ianto knew he had a certain talent for it. His barriers were strong for someone from this time, but not inpenetrable. In recent months, Jack had tried to help him develop his shielding capabilities. Ianto had felt safer with the techniques from the 51st century in which mental abilities were much more present and where people like Jack lived with it every day. But Bleddyn was strong. Too strong. His consciousness pushed against Ianto's defense, he staggered, gasping for breath, the pain ... Ianto stared at him. "How are you doing that?"

Bleddyn just stared at him, smiling.

"Stop it, this is very dangerous." He gasped, feeling Bleddyn slowly but surely beginning to penetrate his mental barriers. He concentrated and pushed him away. "Stop it!" he yelled. And then his world was full of pain. He gasped and fell to the floor. Bleddyn attempted to break into his consciousness and Ianto defended himself as best as he could. The air was thin, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't cry for help and Bleddyn pushed ever further against him and the headache ...

... and then he blacked out.


	8. Chapter 8

**7.**

 

Helen knew PS – psi shock. Jack had told her what it was after they'd had an incident on Flat Holm. He'd explained it away as a result of medical experiments – as a side effect of achieving an artifical evolution of human beings. She knew that he was lying and he knew that she knew. But she trusted him. Jack was a good man, always attentive and charming – if a little too charming with the younger nurses – and if he wanted to make a secret of the origin of the patients here, he certainly had his reasons. As far as he'd explained it to her, psi shock was the result of trying to perform mind control – a kind of shock to the body's response to the attack. Since the first case a few years ago, they had a suitcase with Tiramin stashed away – the drug that was able to combat the effects. Out of interest, she'd started internet searches for the term Tiramin, but she'd found nothing. Another secret. All they knew about it was that it worked. After a brief period of unconsciousness, the affected was weak but healthy again.

So Helen knew what PS was, but Lydia was new and she had no idea. "They're dead!" she cried as she came running into the kitchen, her dark eyes widened fearfully.

For a second, Helen didn't know what to say. Her deputy Toby however was alarmed and took Lydia's hands. "Who?"

"Mr. Jones ... and Bleddyn. They're on the floor and they ..." She sobbed.

Helen and Toby hastily left the kitchen and ran through the dimly lit corridor to Bleddyn's room. The door was wide open. For a moment, they paused on the threshold to assess the situation. Bleddyn and Ianto were lying on the floor – Bleddyn at the foot of the bed and Ianto propped against the wall. Toby went to take care of Bleddyn and Helen knelt beside Ianto, whose eyes were staring unfocussed at the ceiling ... as if he were dead. Helen checked his pulse and breathing, relieved to find that both were present, albeit weak. Toby said, "Bleddyn's just unconscious."

Helen hesitated a moment. "I think Ianto has a PS." She saw Lydia at the door and looked at her encouragingly. "Bring me the black suitcase from the cabinet. Quick!"

"Psi shock?" Toby asked, as he settled Bleddyn on the bed and checked his pulse again.

"Bleddyn must have attacked Ianto. And he fought back." Helen smiled at Lydia when she set down the suitcase and opened it. She took out one of the three prepared Tiramin syringes and injected it. "His breathing is almost non-existent. The attack must have happened a while ago." She brushed the hair from Ianto's forehead. "Lydia, we need a bed for Ianto and blankets. The warmer the better."

Lydia nodded and left.

Toby knelt beside Helen. "Does that mean that Bleddyn has mental abilities?" he asked quietly.

Helen nodded and looked at Bleddyn, who was lying motionless on the bed. "We need to increase security until we know more. He could use mind control to escape, so every door leading outside will be monitored by two members of staff." She startled when Ianto suddenly gasped loudly and raised his hands – an indication that the Tiramin was working. Relieved, she took his hands and made a comforting sound. "We got to him in time. He'll be alright." She watched Ianto fall asleep. "Take him to bed. I need to call Jack."

Toby rubbed his tired neck. "He won't be happy, right?"

Helen sighed deeply. "Absolutely not." 

***

The shrill ringing of a mobile ripped Owen from the twilight between awake and asleep. He grimaced. His muscles protested from his uncomfortable position in the chair. Carefully, he sat up and tried to stretch discreetly. Then he glanced at the screen, where the cameras were showing that the group in the church was still silent. The very reason why Owen had become sleepy in the first place after barely getting any rest the night before. He just hoped that Jack hadn't noticed his inattentiveness. He looked over at him. Jack grinned. "Hello, sleepyhead."

Owen pulled a face.

Jack laughed and looked at the screen of his mobile. He got up and left the boardroom through the back door leading to a small balcony with a table and chairs. Before the door closed, Owen heard him say, "Harkness."

It wasn't rare that Jack took phone calls away from the team, but it wasn't an everyday occurence either. Owen had to admit that he was more than a little curious. Sighing, he turned to his laptop and switched to the CCTV feed of the Weevil cell. He found Anita and her babies sleeping in the nest of straw. Only on closer inspection did he see that one of the babies was missing and he finally found it in a different corner of the cell.

Jack entered the boardroom again. With a scowl on his face, he said "I'm on my way" into the mobile and rang off.

"What's the matter?" Owen asked.

Jack left the boardroom through the front door. Owen followed him outside, but not down the spiral staircase. Jack replied, "Ianto has a problem."

Owen leaned against the railing and watched as Jack hurried to his office. "And of course you can't tell me what kind of problem it is, because Ianto's mission is top secret," he called after him.

"Exactly," Jack replied and disappeared into his office. Owen rolled his eyes. Jack returned with his coat and his Webley and walked towards the entrance door. "I have to help him. Wait for Tosh and Gwen. Call me if something happens," he ordered as he left the Hub. 

***

When the lights were turned back on, Tosh tried to catch a glimpse of the face of the man in the hoodie she'd been watching the whole meeting. As if the bright overhead lights were a sign of farewell, though, he rose quickly and was one of the first to go. Tosh looked at Gwen who had followed her gaze and was now looking at her questioningly.

"Later," Tosh said softly. They stood up. A few of the members were still there, chatting. Others left – in groups or alone.

Jessica finished a conversation with a young man and then joined Gwen and Tosh with a smile. "I hope you liked it. We see silent hours as the best way to honor a life gone by."

Gwen smiled. "It was perfect."

Tosh would have believed her if she hadn't known Gwen already. Sitting and doing nothing for an hour had been hard and tiring for Tosh. For an active person like Gwen, it must have been pure torture.

Jessica took Gwen's hand. "So I hope to see you both again tomorrow."

Gwen nodded. "Yes, but we have a question."

Jessica nodded encouragingly.

"Carys has never said exactly what she's doing here, so we don't quite understand what's going on. What exactly is this group?"

Jessica smiled. "I'm always happy to answer questions. We are a faith community that is independent of any denomination. Our faith is founded on the end."

"The end?" Gwen asked.

"Of all things. Every religion has an afterlife myth. We believe that the afterlife doesn't exist."

Tosh frowned. "You believe _in_ death?"

"In a nutshell," Jessica answered, nodding. "This group helps us come to terms with the fact that our life ends one day and that we've got nothing to expect when that day comes."

Gwen crossed her arms. "Why is the group named after a mythological being then?"

Jessica smiled. "Apollyon. That's the name of our founder. He knows what death brings. He shows it to us."

"He shows it to you?" Gwen asked. "So is there a kind of book, such as the Bible? Can we see it?"

Jessica laughed. "No. We don't have a book. I meant that literally. Apollyon shows us the emptiness of the beyond."

Tosh swallowed. "How?"

"If someone has been to a couple of meetings and connected with our attitude, Apollyon joins us on their third meeting and gives the new believers a glimpse into the beyond."

"Are you saying that he can take people for a ... visit to the realm of the dead?" Tosh asked, stunned.

Jessica nodded. "That's exactly what I mean." She sighed. "As tragic as it is, Carys isn't the first we lost. She was probably discouraged after seeing the truth. As much as we strive for something – success, family, our reputation – in the end, we are all the same and end up in the void. Not everyone can handle it."


	9. Chapter 9

**8.**

 

"This is crazy," Owen said, leaning back in his desk chair. "Those people are seriously messed up." He used his feet to move the chair closer to Tosh's desk. Tosh was in the process of analyzing the video material. With screen shots and facial recognition software, she tried to identify as many cult members as possible. Gwen stood with folded arms behind her and looked over her shoulder. Jack and Ianto were absent ... and silent. Owen had repeatedly tried to reach Jack before Gwen and Tosh had returned, but he'd been unseccussful. Jack either hadn't heard the mobile or decided not to answer ... or he hadn't been able to. Owen tried not to think closer about that possbilitiy and focused instead on Jessica's words about Apollyon taking people to the world beyond death.

Gwen asked, "Why is that so crazy? We know that the other side is empty. Suzie came from there. She told me about it. Jack mentions it sometimes."

"I know. I wasn't talking about that," Owen replied. "I mean the fact that you can't get in and get out. Death is a single ticket."

"Not for Jack."

"Jack isn't normal."

Gwen shrugged and walked to the couch which was pushed up agains the tiled wall behind Tosh's desk. The clacking of her boots echoed in the main Hub. Myfanwy flew a circle around the water tower and then dove into the basin at the sculpture's foot to catch a fish. Her prey evaded her, though, and she sat down on a nearby railing to clean her leather wings, looking for all the world like her pride had taken a kick. Nobody had fed the pterodactyl this evening. In the absence of Ianto, Owen saw this as Jack's job. He wouldn't do it. Myfanwy seemed not very fond of him in general. Gwen threw her a donut and Myfanwy took the gift with gratitude. Gwen leaned back on the couch. "Where exactly did Jack go?"

"I already told you: I don't know. He just up and left." Owen grimaced. "Clearly, Ianto can't handle whatever he's supposed to be doing. Jack should have sent me."

"I hate this secrecy," Gwen said and pulled her mobile out of her pocket. "Will we ever know what he's really doing?"

"Considering that we still have no idea where exactly he comes from and only receive relevant details when we need them to survive, probably not likely," Owen answered.

Gwen gave him a nod of approval and pressed her mobile to her ear.

Cautiously, Tosh said, "He's the boss. He doesn't have to tell us everything."

"Thank you, Ianto," Owen replied mockingly and Tosh turned back to her monitors.

Frustrated, Gwen set down her mobile. "Mailbox – either he didn't hear me or ..." She folded her arms. "... or he rejected my call."

"Great!" Owen said.

"This is irresponsible! If something happens, we have no idea where they are. If they need help ... they ..." She paused. "Something could have happened." 

***

A cool hand touched his cheek and Ianto turned his head slightly, nuzzling into it. He knew this hand. He knew the smell of old, rain-soaked wool. "Jack."

The hand stroked his forehead and a kiss landed on his hairline. "How long was he unconscious?" Jack asked.

A woman answered, "We called you a few minutes after we found him. We estimate that the attack happened about half an hour earlier."

Ianto carefully opened his eyes. Lights blinded him and he blinked. A pounding headache developed and he swallowed down a wave of nausea. He was cold and he felt shaky as if he hadn't eaten for hours. It took a moment before he got used to the light enough to see properly. Jack sat on the edge of his campbed and looked at him with concern before he turned to Helen. "Give us a few minutes. See if Bleddyn's awake. I want to talk to him."

Helen nodded and left.

Jack turned to Ianto and smiled. "How are you?"

"Headache," Ianto answered. He frowned. "When did you get here?"

"Ten minutes ago maybe. Helen called me and I came here immediately."

Ianto looked at Jack's wet hair and damp coat. "Even though it was raining?"

Jack chuckled. "Ianto Jones ..." He seemed to want to make a joke, but in the end, he didn't. "I was worried." Jack took his hand and squeezed it lightly.

Ianto watched their fingers intertwine and noticed that his hands were trembling. He knew the symptoms and his memories slowly returned: Bleddyn. "Psi shock?"

"Yes."

Ianto closed his eyes. "I hate it when that happens."

"Believe me, I'm not a fan either," Jack replied softly. "Tell me what happened."

Ianto tried to sit up. The room swayed and a wave of nausea hit again, but he overcame it. He knew that if he just ignored them, the symptoms would subside in a few hours. "They shouldn't have called you. I'm fine."

Jack pushed him back onto the thin mattress of the campbed. "No, you had a psi shock. You're not doing anything."

Ianto sat up again. "Let me ..." This time, Jack helped him, even though he rolled his eyes. As Ianto sat beside him on the edge of the bed, Jack put a supportive arm around him while Ianto struggled against the nausea. He became aware that he was in the kitchen of the Flat Holm facility.

"I didn't like this from the start," Jack said. "You should have come home after what happened earlier today."

Ianto looked up at Jack. "I just wanted to help."

"Ianto," Jack said, standing up. He stood for a moment with his back to Ianto and then whirled around to him. "All this would probably have never happened if you hadn't used your empathy," he hissed, as if he didn't want to be overheard. "I can't stop you from doing it, Ianto. Not without hurting you. So please, stop. Because if it's more harmful than useful or you can't control yourself, I'll have to force you."

"Is that possible?" Ianto asked. "To take away mental abilities?"

"You don't want to know that."

"Maybe I do."

"Enough," Jack said loudly. Helen, who had come to the door, stopped, startled. Jack noticed her and paused for a moment, then he said quietly, "Not another word about it."

Ianto stared at Jack, reading the _'Not here'_ in his eyes. "Okay," he replied softly, deciding to get back to it later. "Sorry."

Helen cleared her throat. "Bleddyn's awake."

Jack stormed past her. Ianto hastily pulled on his shoes and stumbled after him. The nausea subsided when he'd taken a few steps and he ignored the headache until he would be able to do something about it. Closing his coat as shivers racked his body, he continued down the hall toward Jack’s retreating figure.

He caught up to Jack when he reached the door to Bleddyn's room. "Okay, let's talk straight," Jack said. He stood with hands on hips in front of Bleddyn, who was sitting on the end of his bed again, staring at the wall. He didn't react to Jack's presence. Jack grabbed his shirt and pushed him against the wall, pinning him against the concrete.

"Jack!" Helen cried, shocked, but Ianto stopped her as she tried to pass by him into the room. Jack's methods were sometimes strange but usually, he achieved results. Bleddyn, though, didn't seem fazed.

"Who are you?" Jack asked. "You have mental abilities, you attack my team ... you almost killed Ianto, so it's over with the niceties. Who the hell are you?"

Ianto heard Helen gasp in surprise when Bleddyn suddenly laughed softly. And then he whispered something that made the look of anger in Jack's eyes disappear and replaced it with fear.

He let go of Bleddyn and stepped back. Ianto was surprised when the fear turned into sheer panic. "Why did you say that?" Jack asked softly.

Bleddyn closed his eyes. "Canu." Ianto stared at him in disbelief. Bleddyn was speaking Welsh. So far, there hadn't been the slightest indication that he was from Wales. Even his Welsh name had been given to him by the staff of the institution Jack had found him in. Bleddyn opened his eyes again. "Y duw unig."

Jack shook his head. He stepped back from Bleddyn. Ianto wondered what caused the reaction. Jack didn't understand Welsh. But something about Bleddyn's words clearly scared him.

Bleddyn smiled. "Le y mae, anfarwol?"

Helen asked, "What's going on?"

Ianto answered, "He's speaking in Welsh."

"What is he saying?"

"He's asking-"

"Ianto," Jack held up a hand and shook his head. "We're leaving." He returned to the door, keeping his eyes on Bleddyn. Bleddyn kept staring at Jack until the door slammed shut. Helen seemed to sense that Jack wouldn't talk to her about what had happened and left.

Ianto, however, wouldn't be satisfied without an answer. Not this time. He stared at Jack questioningly. "What just happened in there?"

Jack was still staring at Bleddyn's door. "You tell me. I don't understand Welsh."

Ianto stepped closer and put a hand on Jack's arm. "You must have understood something, otherwise you wouldn't have reacted that way."

"His first words. I remember the translation," Jack replied.

"I couldn't hear them."

Jack swallowed. The panic returned to his eyes.

"Jack, what did he say?"

Jack blinked and seemed to snap out of painful memories. "Blaidd drwg," he answered. "He called me 'Bad Wolf'."


	10. Chapter 10

**9.**

 

The cold sea air relieved Ianto of the last side effects of the Tiramin and let his headache subside somewhat. It had stopped raining but the black night sky was still covered with deep-gray clouds. Far away, the lights of Cardiff, Penarth and Cosmeston glittered on one side of Bristol Channel, mirrored by the lights of Weston-super-Mare and Clevedon on the other side. The black sea separated Wales and England.

They had left the facility in silence and were now armed with two flashlights, on their way over the little island down to the jetty where Bobby was waiting for them with the boat. Ianto hadn't expected Jack to explain what had happened immediately, but he was surprised when Jack started telling his story as they walked.

"No matter where the Doctor, Rose and I went, everywhere, we met the words 'Bad Wolf'. Graffiti in London and Cardiff, the name of a nightclub on Vegja 7, the name of the company owning Satellite 5 ... and apparently, these words were following Rose and the Doctor around long before I met them."

"Blaidd Drwg," Ianto said softly. "There were plans to build a nuclear power station in Cardiff with that name. But a journalist could uncover errors in the design and the mayor disappeared before she could answer questions about it."

"We made her disappear." Jack smiled. "It's a long story but she was an alien." He sighed. "Another encounter with the words. We didn't realize it ..." Jack stopped walking. He looked at Ianto seriously in the glow of their flashlights. "Until we met the creature."

Ianto raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Bad Wolf?"

"It was time. Or more specifically, the time vortex. Bad Wolf ... is responsible for what I am."

"Immortal."

"Yeah."

"How do you know that?"

Jack shook his head. "I can't explain it. I ..." For a moment, he seemed to hesitate but then he said, "There was a battle – humans against Daleks. The Doctor, Rose and I were fighting on the humans' side. I died in that battle. And then it was like ... I heard singing. A melody. And then I woke up. No one has explained it to me but ... I just knew that Bad Wolf caused my immortality. I hope the Doctor can explain it to me some day."

Ianto frowned. "What Bleddyn said: canu. It means 'to sing'." He swallowed. "He asked about the lonely God. Where he can find him. He was calling you 'Immortal'."

"The lonely God is the Doctor."

Ianto stared out to sea. "How can Bleddyn know all this? How does he know that you have traveled with the Doctor? That you can't die? How does he know of the song ... and Bad Wolf?"

Jack turned away, frustrated. "I don't know." He let out a breath. "But I would have noticed if he had tried to rummage around my mind." He turned to Ianto and eyed him critically. "Are you okay?"

"Tired," Ianto answered.

Jack nodded. "Bobby is waiting with the boat." It was an offer. So far, they hadn't discussed whether Ianto would come back to Cardiff with Jack.

Ianto was too tired to reject the offer. "Sounds good." He set off again to the narrow staircase that led down to the jetty. "What do we do with Bleddyn?"

Jack sighed deeply. "We took precautions. The only alternative to Flat Holm would be the Hub but I don't want to take him there."

"Right." Ianto rubbed his forehead absently.

Jack's hand closed around his elbow as they began to walk down the steep, wet wooden steps to the landing stage. "Don't worry about it right now, okay? We have security measures. We can talk about everything else in the morning. You're exhausted."

The old wood of the landing stage creaked under their feet. The small boat was bobbing on the turbulent waves. Bobby stood leaning against the outside wall of the cabin, dressed in a yellow raincoat and with a dark woolen hat pulled deep over the old face. He smiled at Ianto as he got into the boat. "Mr. Jones, glad to see you're okay."

"Thank you," Ianto answered.

Jack nodded to Bobby. "Let's go home."

While Bobby started the engine of the boat, Ianto dropped into a seat on the bench that was afixed to the front of the boat. Jack sat next to him as the boat headed for Cardiff.

Ianto rubbed his eyes. "I'm drained, but I ... I don't think that I can sleep."

"Nervous energy?" Jack asked.

"Too many thoughts running around in my head. Between the Bleddyn situation, and everything I’ve got to get done at the Hub, and the suicide cases ..." Ianto trailed off with a sigh.

"... and Torchwood 4," Jack added, his voice strangely distant.

Ianto looked at him from the corner of his eye. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Jack gave him a weak smile. 

"I won't ask," Ianto said. 

Jack nodded slowly, and then he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss on Ianto's lips. 

***

Rain drummed against Ianto's bedroom window and the street lamps threw orange blurred circles against the bright curtains. Ianto watched as Jack got dressed in the light of his bedside lamp. Jack gave him a smile as he buttoned his shirt. "Are you going to be able to sleep now?"

Ianto smiled and stretched. "The odds are certainly better." He pulled the covers up and turned on his side.

Jack threw on his coat. "Glad to hear that," he said with a grin. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Ianto nodded. "Tomorrow." 

***

Jack watched Owen for about half an hour from his office via CCTV, as he sat quietly in the cell with the Weevils, then he got up and went downstairs. At night, the vaults were even colder than usual and Jack wished for a moment that he'd thought of taking his coat. He entered the vaults slowly so he wouldn't upset Anita. She gave him a long, skeptical look, but he held his hands out to the side to show her they were empty. When he stopped at the cell, he looked at Owen who was still sitting motionless near the door, watching the Weevils. Jack noticed that one of the babies was huddled in the corner alone, away from Anita and its siblings, and suddenly, he understood why Owen was still here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping in the guest quarters. But it wasn't just the Weevils that kept Owen awake. That much, Jack could deduce from the expression on his face. He shoved his hands into his pockets and asked, "What's the problem?"

Owen looked up at him. "How did you know that there is a problem?"

Jack shrugged. "I know that look."

"Scary."

Jack smiled. "So, what's going on?"

"One of the babies," Owen answered and looked at the Weevils, "seems a bit weak to me. It doesn't drink and it seems to have lost contact with the family."

"Natural selection," Jack replied. He watched the lonely Weevil baby cowering alone near the wall. Anita made no effort to tuck it closer. The other three babies were huddled by her mother.

"You could see it that way, of course," Owen said.

"That's how you have to see it," Jack said gravely. "It's late. Go to sleep."

Owen sighed and nodded. He sat up, stretched briefly and left the cell. While he carefully locked the door and checked the scanners which would keep an eye on the vital signs of the Weevils for him, he asked, "Is Ianto okay?"

"He's at home – asleep."

"What was the problem?" Owen seemed to be trying to sound disinterested, but he didn't quite succeed.

Jack couldn't suppress a slight smile about that. He shook his head.

Owen rolled his eyes. "Does he need a doctor? I'm still responsible for him, you know?"

"He doesn't need a doctor. He's okay. He'll come in for work tomorrow morning as usual. You can annoy him then if you want to."

Owen snorted. "If you say so."

"I do." With that, Jack nodded at Owen and headed back to his office. 

***

_She was pretty. Blonde long hair, dark eyes, a wide smile that brightened her young face ... he knew her from somewhere. A memory as weak as a dream. She seemed so friendly ... but her soul ... he recoiled. Bad Wolf._

_**"I create myself."** _

_He pressed himself against the wall behind him, saw that he was crouched in a corridor, under a table, white, bare walls, a lot of doors ... it was vaguely familiar, but it all seemed a little blurry and he couldn't say why he knew this place ..._

_Her smile was gentle and she held out a hand in his direction. "You don't have to afraid of me."_

_'Of course not,' he thought. She was so pretty, so kind, he didn't have to be afraid ..._

_He flinched when, suddenly, another person appeared in front of him. A young man – dark skin, an earnest face, close-cropped black hair. "Who's that?" he asked, looking around as if he was afraid of being discovered. By whom?_

_"I don't know, Mickey," she answered. "Someone who works here, I guess."_

_Mickey narrowed his lips impatiently. "We don't have time for this."_

_"He's scared. He's so young." She held out her hand._

_He crouched down, he didn't know much, just one thing: She was Bad Wolf and she couldn't be allowed to touch him. He didn't know what it meant or how he knew who she was but he trusted his instincts. "Stay away from me," he whispered. She dropped her hand, taken aback._

_**"I am the Bad Wolf."** _

_**A man stared at her pleadingly, his bright eyes sad and feverish. "Rose, you've got to stop this. You've got to stop this now!"** _

_"Rose," Mickey said. "We have to leave."_

_Rose ... that was her name. It was familiar, he'd heard it before ..._

_She looked up at Mickey. "We need to find the Doctor."_

_**"I want you safe. My Doctor."** _

_Rose and Mickey ran away, leaving him alone in a world he didn't understand and, yet, seemed so familiar ..._

_**“It's like ... there was this singing ...”** _

Ianto woke up, panting and sweating. His trembling hand found his mobile on the bedside table and before he thought about it, he'd dialled Jack's number. He gasped, trying to calm his breathing as he waited for an answer.

 _"Ianto,"_ Jack said.

Ianto swallowed. "I had a dream."

Jack laughed. _"Martin Luther King?"_

"I saw Bad Wolf. It was Rose."

Jack's laughter stopped and suddenly, there was silence. Then Jack said, _"I'll be right there."_

And he rang off. 

***

"It was Canary Wharf," Ianto said. The living room was lit only by a standard lamp in the corner and the furniture cast long, eerie shadows. Ianto turned his eyes away from them and focused instead on Jack, who was standing at the window with crossed arms, staring into the dawning morning. "I couldn't see much, but I knew ... I just knew that the Cybermen and Daleks were everywhere." Jack looked at him searchingly, as if looking for some sign of a lie. Ianto grabbed his coffee cup tighter. "And I wasn't myself ... that wasn't my experience. Rose was there ... and this boy ... Mickey. And they were looking for the Doctor. But they found me first and Rose tried to calm me down. I was afraid of her because she ... she was Bad Wolf. I don't know how I knew ..." He paused. "And there were scraps of another memory. Mostly just words. I couldn't make much sense of it."

Jack stepped closer slowly. "Did you ever meet Rose?"

Ianto shook his head. "No, but in Scotland, you shared memories of her with me. That's how I know her."

Jack put a hand on Ianto's neck. "Look at me." Ianto obeyed. Jack's blue eyes were serious and decisive. "I'm going to take a look at your mental barriers, okay?"

"They're still here."

"Humour me," Jack said.

Ianto swallowed. He didn't like the feeling of another consciousness in his head. Not even when it was Jack. But he trusted Jack and he knew that he wouldn't suggest something like this easily. "Okay."

Only a moment later, Jack's mind slid against his mental barriers, looking for damages and evidence that someone had broken into his mind and manipulated his thoughts. But finally, Jack pulled back and sighed in relief. "Okay. Your barriers are intact."

"I know," Ianto replied. He frowned quizzically. "Jack?"

"Bleddyn. He wasn't in your head but he did something. Perhaps he projected his memories. It's not necessary to break through mental shields to do that, since no control of another consciousness is required."

"Do you think ..." Ianto's eyes widened. "All the things he did ..."

"The fact that I know the Doctor, that Bad Wolf followed us, the voice I heard during my resurrection ... Bleddyn got all that from Rose. He must have met her in Canary Wharf and read her mind and Rose ..." Jack shook his head. "She didn't even notice because she has no mental training."

"He also knew that you're immortal. That memory couldn't have come from Rose."

"She must have known subconsciously. Bad Wolf is the time vortex and for a little while, it was in her head. She could see everything – what happened, what will happen. To me, too. She must have forgotten it when the time vortex left her," Jack said. He sank down on the couch next to Ianto and put his head in his hands. "So it was her? She made me immortal?"

"What for?"

"I wish I knew. But that's not the question we need to ask ourselves." Jack shoved his hands through his dark hair in frustration. "Bleddyn was found walking the road between Cardiff and Newport, shortly after Canary Wharf. He came all the way from London and straight here – why? Where did he get his mental abilities and why is he projecting his memories to you? Why did he attack you, after he had the same chance to do it to me for several months? What does he want from you?" He looked at Ianto. "Who the hell is this guy?"


	11. Chapter 11

**10.**

 

Owen knew that it was too late to reconsider his decision when the cog door rolled open and Jack stormed into the Hub. His face was grim and determined as he headed for his office. He froze, however, when he saw what was on the floor next to Owen's desk.

Owen quickly lifted a dismissive hand. "Before you say anything: It's perfectly safe. It's secured and I'll always keep an eye on it."

Jack opened his mouth.

"And," Owen interrupted him quickly, "it's just a baby. It has spent the last half hour just lying there and my leg was within reach." He pointed at the Weevil baby that was tied to his desk with a dog leash and curled up in a dog bed.

Ianto came in next to Jack. He looked tired and a little pale, but – as Jack had said the night before – he seemed to be alright. He threw the Weevil baby a surprised look. "Where did you get the dog bed?"

Jack looked at him. "Yes," he said sarcastically, "that clearly is the most important issue at the moment."

Owen took a deep breath. Jack could call a stop to his plan and he was well aware of that. Weevils were dangerous predators and it was mandatory to keep them in the cells until they were set free in the sewers of the city. But after the baby still hadn't returned to its family and Anita didn't show any interest in it, Owen just had had to intervene. And he would do everything possible to convince Jack of his plan. "What is the most important issue?"

"What happened to natural selection?"

"Why trust in natural selection when there's baby food at the Tesco's down the street?" Owen asked. Jack raised an eyebrow. Owen sighed. "Okay, I don't want it to die. It's only for a few days. Until it has regained some of its strength."

"Owen," Jack said with a deep sigh. He crouched down beside the basket and pushed the bowl of baby food closer to the Weevil. The baby didn't react.

"It doesn't take the bottle," Owen said, crossing his arms. "I've already tried. I'm running a few blood tests."

"It needs its mother's milk," Jack said.

"I can't offer him any. If it was really hungry, it would take that milk. Maybe it's ill."

Jack straightened. "Alright. Only until it's back on its feet. We don't want to domesticate it."

Owen smiled. "Thank you." Then he looked questioningly at Ianto. "What are you doing here? It's not even eight."

"I couldn't sleep," Ianto answered vaguely and headed for the kitchen area.

Owen looked after him and then to Jack. "He could at least be honest. You arrived together. It's pretty obvious."

"Firstly, it's none of your business and secondly, nothing about this is obvious." He went to his office.

Owen sighed, annoyed, and focused on the blood tests. So far, there was no sign of any disease or other problem. Owen looked thoughtfully down at the Weevil. He startled when Ianto suddenly stopped beside him and offered him a cup of coffee. "Thank you," he sighed. Owen expected Ianto to move on, but he remained standing beside his desk. Owen tried for a moment to ignore him, but then he gave up. "What?" he asked.

"Would you mind if I develop my empathy?"

Owen looked up at him. "Would it stop you if I said 'Yes'?"

"Yes. Jack's right. It's something very personal and should be agreed to by all parties involved."

Owen sipped his coffee and took a moment to ponder the question. "So, when I'm feeling like shit and you realize that ... can I expect you to try to talk to me so I feel better?"

Ianto grimaced. "No. I wouldn't mention it to you or anyone else."

Owen looked at him thoughtfully. "Well," he finally said. "Then I see no problem." He turned back to his computer. Ianto stood beside his desk. Owen looked up at him. "Anything else?"

"No," Ianto said quickly. "Nothing." He turned away and walked back to the kitchen niche.

Owen smiled at the Weevil baby. "And that's how you surprise Ianto Jones," he said softly. 

***

"A lot of work at the moment?" Rhys asked and his voice sounded unnaturally loud in the silence of their flat.

For the first time, Gwen became aware of the fact that there had been a time when Rhys and her had talked a lot while eating breakfast together. About her job with the police, about his work, about the rivalry of their two sets of parents. But since she had started to work for Torchwood, she couldn't talk about her job anymore and Rhys ran out of stories about his colleagues and it wasn't fun anymore to laugh about their parents when there were problems bubbling underneath the surface of their own relationship: Gwen's affair with Owen, Rhys's anger about the secrecy and the fact that they spent less and less time together. There were also the dangers of her job. Rhys's initial pride that Gwen had been promoted into a special unit had now given way to constant worry. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she'd come home with a gunshot wound a couple of months back. At the beginning, she'd been touched by his concern; now she was annoyed. And Rhys was irritated because she was annoyed.

Gwen looked up from her breakfast and at Rhys, who was sitting across from her at the bar that separated the kitchen niche from the lounge. "Pardon?"

Rhys frowned. "I asked whether there's a lot of work to be done. You were home late yesterday."

"Oh ..." She nodded and smiled, hastily adding, "Yes, a lot of work."

"Lately, you work late into the night very often. You don't get enough sleep."

Gwen hesitated a moment and then looked up at Rhys. He seemed worried and she felt bad because she lied to him so often and so easily. Lately, she hadn't worked late nearly as often as Rhys thought she did. While Torchwood was a job that required late hours on a regular basis, she also met up with Owen sometimes. Gwen wondered sometimes why she kept on sleeping with him and had more than once decided to stop, but so far, she hadn't been able to. She put a hand on Rhys's cheek. "Don't worry. It's mostly just paper work."

Her mobile announced a text message and Gwen immediately reached for it. She noticed Rhys's annoyed look but she ignored him. There was a rule in Jack Harkness's team that should never be broken: never ignore texts and calls. But the message wasn't from Jack, it was from _Unknown_.

_Apollyon, 7pm_

Only a moment later, another message arrived – this time from Toshiko.

_Did you get the invitation?_

Gwen answered quickly.

_Yes. See you in the Hub._

She stood up and slipped the phone into her jeans pocket. "Okay, I gotta go. I'll be home late."

Rhys sighed. "Of course."

She kissed him and left, like always worried that he wouldn't be there anymore when she got home. 

***

"You gave them your mobile numbers?" Jack asked, stunned.

Gwen crossed her arms. "What should we have done? Jessica wanted the numbers, we want to belong. There was no reason not to give them to her."

Jack sank into the chair at the head of the boardroom table. "Now they have your numbers. Who knows what they'll do with them."

One moment it was quiet, then Owen said, "What's done is done. I'm with Gwen on this one. They had no choice."

Jack frowned. The door to the boardroom opened and Ianto entered, carrying a tray with coffee mugs. For the first time, Gwen noticed something she would have never realized a few days ago. A calm settled over the group and Jack relaxed a bit. Gwen noticed that her anger faded slowly. She stared at Ianto who put down a cup for her. He probably did it unconsciously but he was projecting that calm feeling. As he'd always done. She was fascinated.

Jack sighed deeply, "Fine." He nodded at Tosh.

She cleared her throat and glanced repeatedly at her laptop while she reported, "I used a facial recognition software to analyze the video. Unfortunately, not all the members have been filmed with the cameras but most of them have. And we know them. From Torchwood cases dating back to 1998."

Owen asked, "What's with that group leader – Jessica?"

"That's interesting." Tosh typed something and said, "Her name's Jessica Hilton. Her picture wasn't found in our case records. Nevertheless, there was a hit. She's considered missing since the year 2000. Her family in Edinburgh reported it. They say that Jessica worked for the government in Inverness and just disappeared."

Jack cleared his throat. "Inverness," he repeated slowly.

"Scotland," Tosh said with a nod.

Ianto sat down beside her and leaned in to look at the screen.

Gwen said, "The question is: Why doesn't she contact her family?"

Jack interjected, "Let's not focus on Jessica for the time being. We should-"

"Jack," Ianto said. It was unusual that he interrupted Jack during a meeting, so it wasn't just Jack who looked at him in surprise. Jack's face darkened immediately.

Owen seemed to notice that as well because he asked, "Okay, what's going on?"

"Jessica Hilton didn't work for the government."

"Ianto!" Jack said sharply.

"You said there wasn't enough evidence but now there is!" Ianto replied just as heatedly.

"What the hell is going on here?" Owen said.

Ianto stared at Jack challengingly. It seemed like there was a mute discussion happening between them, a wordless dispute, then Jack cleared his throat and leaned forward to clasp his hands on the table. His knuckles were turning white because he entwined them so hard. Gwen could only guess how much effort it cost him to stay calm. Jack didn't like to be challenged in front of everyone. She feared that Ianto would have to face consequences later. She knew this from personal experience.

Jack said, "Inverness was the location of Torchwood Four."

Gwen raised a hand. "Wait, does that mean that Torchwood Four is involved? Aren't they gone?"

Jack stared at Ianto while he answered, "I'm sure they are, that's why I didn't want to mention it in the first place."

Tosh cautiously said, "Let's say they're back ..."

Owen snorted. "Apparently, they aren't fans of us."

Gwen looked at him warningly. "We don't know that. Tosh and I are going to talk with Jessica this evening, see what we'll find out." She looked at Jack. "How long have you known that Torchwood Four could be involved in this?"

Jack looked back at her calmly.

"Would you have told us if Ianto hadn't forced you to?"

"Torchwood Four is no threat to us."

"You might think so but you could be wrong, Jack. You're only human."

Owen added, "I'm tired of all this secrecy."

Jack stood up abruptly. "This is still my base, my team, my decision! Torchwood Four is gone, at least I thought ..." He swallowed. "... hoped so." He folded his arms. "This isn't about secrecy, it's about protection. I wanted to protect you."

Gwen asked, "From what?"

"Torchwood Four doesn't have a conscious. The fact that they have found a way back from exile proves that they're more intelligent than we would ever have believed them to be. A dangerous mix."

Owen frowned. "Wait a minute ... exile? Did you make them disappear or something?"

Jack looked at him earnestly. "Or something," he answered. "I, Torchwood One and Torchwood Two, UNIT and the Queen."

Gwen put a hand over her mouth. "Oh, my God," she murmured.

"None of them should be here," said Jack.

It was quiet and Tosh said softly, "Okay. How about I compare the Torchwood Four personnel files with national and international databases? If the facial recognition software found Jessica, then perhaps the others as well."

"The personnel files contain no pictures," Jack said. "We never had any. Torchwood Four was an anonymous unit and only the directors of the institutes knew their faces."

Owen leaned back in his chair and sarcastically said, "Oh, wonderful. So one of them could already be sitting at the table with us." He looked at Ianto with a wry grin. "And you're really from Torchwood One?"

"Owen!" Tosh said, shocked.

"Just a joke. Calm down, would you?"

"A cruel joke."

"Quiet!" Gwen said loudly and stood up, both hands raised. "Let's calm down." She rubbed her forehead.

For a moment, there was silence. Then Jack put his hands on his hips and quietly said, "You want a reason why I didn't tell you." He looked around. "Fine. I was scared. Inverness was the pride of the Torchwood Institute and it became the black sheep. They went too far." He sat down again. "They were scientists – a joint venture of Torchwood and UNIT –, responsible for drawing medical benefits from alien technology. Torchwood One had a department for it but they were merely assistants to Torchwood Four." He sighed. "Torchwood Four was successful. Very successful. The best in the world worked for them. And they wanted it all. They found a way to equip people with supernatural abilities – telepathy, empathy ... they wanted to use these powers to give Torchwood more influence, to form their own government which eventually ..." He smiled bitterly. "Would control the world."

Owen snorted. "World domination? Very original."

"We had to intervene. We used alien technology to banish them."

Gwen's eyes narrowed. She wondered where one could banish a group of people to so that they never returned and she didn't find an answer. At the thought of the things Torchwood and UNIT had at their disposal, she had to know the answer or she would forever think about it. "Where to?"

Jack looked at her, his blue eyes sad. "The gap between time and space - the Void. There's no return from there."

Owen raised a hand. "Yes, there is, when one of them is here, that could mean-"

" _One_ of them," Jack interrupted him impatiently. "That doesn't mean that the others are here, too."

Gwen cleared her throat. "Okay, let's use that. We focus on Jessica."

Jack nodded. "They seemed to have accepted the both of you."

Tosh nodded. "We should find out why they only recruit members that are associated with Torchwood. I'm surprised that they let me and Gwen in."

Ianto replied, "I'm not." Everyone turned to him. He seemed surprised by the attention – or even by the fact that they didn't know what he meant. Ianto was often one or even two steps ahead of them. Gwen liked that about him. She wasn't sure if he knew how smart he was. "The group's interested in Torchwood," Ianto said. "The probability that they know us is very high."

Gwen frowned, worried. "Where from?"

Tosh answered, "Mary knew us. She mentioned collectors of alien artifacts who are in contact via the internet. I checked and it's true. Many of these people may only be conspiracy theorists, but some aren't so far off the truth. They know officials from UNIT and Torchwood and there are mentions of the Doctor."

Jack added, "And then there are alien artifacts. We know that there's a black market, so of course there are collectors. We know only a few of them."

Gwen leaned back in her chair. "Why don't we just go in and get their artifacts?"

"Because they don't make it public. As long as they don't do anything that might endanger someone, UNIT and Torchwood overlook what they have. It would only call for unwanted attention, if we'd take action against them. Plus, it's difficult to get hold of their collections. And as long as there are collectors we can identify, we have links to the black market and maybe we can follow them one day. The black market is more interesting than the collectors."

Owen sighed. "The point is that Gwen and Tosh will go there in the assumption that these people know exactly who they are?" He folded his arms. "That sounds like a trap."

"Not if we know that it is," Jack replied.


	12. Chapter 12

**11.**

 

From her seat on the couch, Gwen watched with amusement as Owen sat cross-legged on the floor next to the Weevil baby, offering a bottle of baby food. It only responded half-heartedly to the offer, as if it was still full from its last meal, but Owen grinned in relief. "Finally."

Tosh looked up from her screens and over to him, then turned her chair in Gwen's direction and raised an eyebrow. Gwen laughed and Tosh joined in.

Owen looked up at them. "What?" he asked. "What's so funny?"

Gwen shook her head. "Nothing." When Owen just threw her a questioning look, she explained, "It's just weird to see you like that."

Tosh leaned back in her chair and took off her glasses. "Does it have a name?"

Owen shook his head. "It's a boy and he has no name."

Gwen thought about it for a moment. "What about James?" she asked.

Owen grimaced.

Tosh was chewing on her the arm of her glasses and suggested, "Harry."

Owen shook his head. Gwen watched as Myfanwy flew around the water tower and had an idea. "Hywel."

Owen snorted. "I don't even know how to spell that."

"We have Myfanwy," Gwen said with a nod to her nest. "A name from a Welsh song. And Hywel was Myfanwy's lover."

"How romantic," Owen said mockingly.

"I like the name," Gwen replied and Tosh nodded.

Owen sighed and gave up. "Hywel ... I guess that means that you're officially adopted." The Weevil baby turned away from the bottle and Owen sat in his chair. "He could have taken more but it's a start," he said.

Gwen looked up at Jack's office. "They're so quiet." Unfortunately, the blinds were closed, so that they couldn't see what was going on. After they'd left the boardroom, Jack had wasted no time and ordered Ianto to his office. That had been almost ten minutes ago but there was just silence on the other side of the door.

"Maybe he killed Ianto and is now looking for a way to hide the body," Owen replied. Tosh grimaced.

"Seriously," Gwen said. "I expected a loud argument. Or at least Jack yelling."

"Didn't you know yet? Ianto's got the bed bonus."

"The bed bonus?"

"Jack and him are shagging."

Gwen rolled her eyes and picked up a magazine that was lying on the coffee table. "I doubt that Jack can be influenced by something like that." She brushed her hair behind her ears. "He may have seen reason and realized that we needed to know about Torchwood Four."

"Jack?" Owen asked. "Sees reason?"

"He's not that bad," Gwen answered. She looked towards the office again. 

***

Ianto remained standing in front of Jack's desk with his hands clasped on his back while Jack pulled the blinds and let himself drop into his chair. He leaned his elbow on the armrest and pinched his lower lip between his thumb and forefinger. The desk lamp was the only light source and cast menacing shadows in the corners of the large room from which Jack claimed only a small part for himself. Jack's face was hard to read. But Ianto could imagine what he was thinking. "I know what you're going to say."

"Not just an empath but also a telepath, are you?" Jack asked.

"I don't need telepathy for that."

"It was right to tell them."

Surprised, Ianto stared at Jack. "I'm definitely not a telepath."

Jack smiled a little, then he became serious again. "Over the years, Torchwood Four became kind of a scary myth. There were rumors about it. When it disappeared, we gave an official reason: they lost control over their own experiments. Nobody asked questions because everyone knew that things went wrong at the branch and everyone feared them." He sighed. "I always thought I was over it, but in the last few days I realized that I'm still scared of their potential. Even the thought that they might be back ..."

Ianto sat down and folded his hands on the desk. "It's just a bigger reason to tell them."

"I feel the need to justify myself for what we did to Torchwood Four. And Jasmine ... sometimes I think they see me as a kind of ... unfeeling monster."

"Do you see yourself that way?"

Jack ran a hand through his dark hair. "Sometimes, I look back on my decisions and wonder if I did the right things."

Ianto looked at him seriously. "Doesn't sound like a monster to me."

Jack leaned forward and folded his hands on the desk. "You should know best."

Ianto swallowed. He thought of Lisa and shook his head. "Not a monster. Human." Jack's eyes were staring at him intently. Too intently. He felt uncomfortable and quickly changed the subject. "So I did some research on Bleddyn."

Jack nodded, accepting the change of subject.

"His Flat Holm file also contains the report of the institute you found him in."

"I know the file."

"I thought about where he came from. He was in Torchwood One, so there are only two possibilities: He worked there or he was a prisoner. So I went through personnel and prisoner files-"

"Ianto," Jack interrupted him, surprised. "More than 800 files?"

"I was able to limit the criteria. Male, the approximate age, hair color, eye color ..."

"Okay." Jack leaned back in his chair. "Employee or prisoner?"

"Neither. He wasn't employed by Torchwood One and he wasn't a prisoner."

"But he was in the battle."

Ianto nodded.

"A civilian?"

Ianto shook his head. "Everybody wanted to leave the tower, no one could have tried to enter it. Moreover, even in the chaos, automatic safeguards kept civilians outside."

"Where does he come from then?" Jack asked.

"There is only one possibility. Wherever the Cybermen came from – Bleddyn came from there as well." Jack looked at Ianto and seemed to mull that over. Ianto already had a plan. "I want to return to Flat Holm. I want to try and talk to Bleddyn-"

"No," Jack interrupted him immediately. "You're not going to go see him."

"But, Jack-"

"We have enough on our plate with the _Apollyon_ case, Ianto. And I don't want you to go near him. It's too dangerous." He sighed. "Let's just wait to be done with Apollyon and then ... then we'll talk about it again. In the meantime, Flat Holm has got him under control. He has an isolated cell and seems to behave himself. After Apollyon, he'll become our priority. He was there for months ... he can wait a few more days."

Ianto stared at Jack but he wore a determined expression with which there was no arguing. "Fine," he finally replied. 

***

Gwen looked nervously at Tosh and took a deep breath, then knocked on the door of the church. Rain was drumming on the umbrella the two women shared. Their headsets had already disappeared into the handbags and Gwen felt a little vulnerable without Jack's calm instructions in her ear. Jessica opened with a big smile.

"Hi," Gwen said.

"Good to see that you've come back," Jessica said and let them in. Like the night before, a few members of the group were already there and had gathered sitting on the floor of the room.

Gwen put down the umbrella and made sure the little camera in her cardigan didn't slip while she took off her coat. "Yes," she replied. "Thanks for inviting us."

Jessica nodded and started to turn away, but Tosh quickly said, "Jessica, we have a question."

Jessica smiled. "Whatever you want to know."

Gwen and Tosh looked at each other, then Tosh said softly, "Yesterday, we talked to a few members ... and we wonder whether this community is kind of a support group."

Jessica frowned. "No. Why would you ask that?"

"Well, the three people we talked to mentioned amnesia. Carys had the same problem. A few days of her memories were just gone one day."

Gwen nodded, leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, "And her ex-boyfriend is also gone. Without a trace. Neighbors say they heard an argument between him and Carys ... and there are rumors."

Jessica laughed. "Well, our faith seems to be the perfect comfort for people with certain experiences."

"How do you find members? There's no hint of this group existing anywhere."

"Oh ..." Jessica seemed to hesitate. "Well, sometimes I get names and addresses from Apollyon and I contact the new members."

Tosh asked, "How?"

"An e-mail or a letter, whatever is more appropriate."

Gwen frowned. "What's in it?"

Jessica shrugged. "Just one word. Torchwood. It attracts people." Gwen and Tosh looked at each other. Jessica smiled. "I found my way here the same way. I'm missing a lot of memories of my life. In fact, I can remember nothing before the 13th June of 2000. The word Torchwood, though ... it touched something in me. I can't tell you what ... we were only a very small community when I joined and Noah held the meetings back then."

"Where is he now?" Gwen asked.

"He killed himself. That was ... half a year ago. This group exists a year now." She checked her watch. "We should get started." She left them.

Gwen looked at Tosh and whispered, "I don't want to be here."

"Me neither," Tosh replied. They joined the group. Like the night before, the lights were switched off, leaving only the candles to light the room. Tosh nudged Gwen and nodded to the man in the hoodie who she'd already noticed the evening before. Gwen tried to see his face but it was in the shadows.

Jessica stood before the group. "Today is a special day because one of our members will finally be fully integrated into our group. Sean, would you come to me, please?"

The man in the hoodie rose and Gwen tensed up. He walked up to Jessica and then turned around with a shy smile. Tosh gasped in surprise and Gwen opened her mouth. She leaned to Tosh. "Looks like we're not the only ones sneaking in here."

Tosh nodded. "Ben Bryan."


	13. Chapter 13

**12.**

 

"Great," Owen said. "Perfect." He was kneeling on the floor of the boardroom, offering a bottle of baby food to Hywel. But the little Weevil turned away repeatedly or took the offer only half-heartedly. Owen was seriously worried. The blood tests had revealed no abnormalities, but he knew too little about the Weevils to be sure that he wasn't ill.

Ianto and Jack both stood with folded arms at the head of the boardroom table and stared at the flat screen on the wall showing the pictures of the cameras that Gwen and Tosh had with them. The appearance of the journalist Ben Bryan had surprised all of them. Jack sighed. "Damn it."

"It's not unexpected," said Ianto. "After all, he is linked to us."

"Not like the others," Jack shook his head. "Ben's involvement was a secret."

"Sh!" Owen hissed. "We're missing everything." Another man had joined Jessica. At least he assumed that it was a man, because he was wearing a long cloak with a hood that was pulled so low over his face that the faint glow of the candles didn't reveal anything. "They really have a sense for the dramatic," Owen said softly.

Jack signaled him to be quiet.

"What?" Owen asked. "It's a total cliché."

Jessica smiled. "Well, now that Apollyon is with us, let's begin."

"That's Apollyon?" Owen asked. He stood up. Jack moved closer to the screen, hands on his hips. He stared at the picture as if he was able to see more now. Owen leaned against the boardroom table next to Ianto. Apollyon stepped a little closer to Ben and Owen saw Jack tense up, as if he was getting ready to pounce. He could understand why; he felt the same way. After all, Apollyon was the one who was supposed to be able to take people on a visit to the other side. Apollyon reached forward and put a hand on Ben's shoulder.

And then they disappeared.

Owen, Ianto and a few of the group's members gave a startled noise, others apparently had already witnessed such an initiation and didn't react. Jack stepped even closer to the screen and put his hand to where Ben and Apollyon had been. Then he spun around, his face resolute and somber. "Owen, with me." He ran out of the boardroom. Owen handed Ianto the bottle and followed him hastily. 

***

Ianto stared at one of the computer monitors at Tosh's desk where he'd retreated to for an analysis after Jack and Owen's hasty departure. Small tremors of Rift activity were normal for Cardiff. Their instruments usually didn't react to these small energy peaks and only alarmed the team to bigger spikes. Out of curiosity, Ianto had taken a measurement in the Taymuir Road and just now, the results were coming in. "Rift activity," he muttered. "Very centered. Very short." He looked down at Hywel, who was gazing at him quizzically from his place next to Tosh's desk. "Probably artificially induced." He looked back at the pictures the cameras were still sending. The group was meditating now. Gwen and Tosh were going along with it but Ianto could imagine that they were as nervous as he was. Ben and Apollyon had been gone for almost fifteen minutes now. Ianto looked at another screen that tracked the SUV through the streets of Cardiff. Jack and Owen would be arriving at the church in a few minutes. Anxiously, Ianto began to nibble on his thumbnail. He hated moments like this where he had to stay behind in the Hub, but he understood Jack's decision to take Owen. Not only was Owen Jack's second in command, he was also much more experienced when it came to the field. Ianto was just beginning to accompany Jack on Weevil hunts. He rarely went on field missions and usually only joined the team to help with the cleanup. That didn't change the fact that he wished he could do more than wait. 

***

Jack took the last corner into Taymuir Road with a squeal of tires.

 _"Jack,"_ he heard Ianto through the comm link, _"wait! Apollyon and Ben are back."_

Jack's hand froze on the door handle of the car and Owen paused as well. "Is he okay?" he asked.

_"Yes, seems like it. The meeting's over. Apollyon's gone."_

Jack tried to see something in the dark garden of the church but the street lights threw too many shadows. "Through the back door?"

_"No, he just disappeared."_

At that moment, the door of the church opened and the members of the group began to leave the building. Among them were Gwen and Tosh. Jack leaned back in his seat, breathing deeply, and then signed Owen to follow him. They left the car and crossed the rain-slicked road. At the fence of the church grounds, Jack stopped to wait for Gwen and Tosh. A few of the members looked at them skeptically and Jack feared that he'd made a wrong decision, but Owen seemingly had already come up with a reason for their presence. "There they are," he said loudly. Without further premonition, he pulled Gwen into his arms and planted a kiss on her lips. The cover seemed to work because the group's members lost interest in them.

Jack smiled and pulled Tosh in a brief hug before he put his arm around her waist. "We thought we'd pick you up for dinner," he said. Tosh leaned against him and he pulled her closer. He could see that she was upset and kissed her head.

Gwen smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "That's sweet."

Jack asked softly, "Maybe we should ask Ben if he wants to join us?"

Gwen nodded. Meanwhile, everyone seemed to have left the church. Jessica locked the door and spoke a few words with Ben, who was also amongst the last ones to leave, before she left hurriedly. Jack considered following her for a moment but the area was too quiet. She would notice.

 _"I'll follow her via CCTV, sir,"_ Ianto said over the comm link.

Jack smiled. "Perfect."

Ben was the last to leave the church grounds through the small gate and he gave them a suspicious look when he noticed that they were all staring at him. Gwen responded quickly. "Hi," she said.

Ben gave a tentative smile. There was no sign of recognition in his eyes. "Hey!"

Gwen smiled. "I'm Gwen." She nodded at Tosh. "This is Toshiko. And these are our boyfriends Jack and Owen."

"I know the both of you," Ben said. He nodded at Jack and Owen in greeting. "I'm Sean Lucas."

Jack exchanged a glance with Owen. "Sean," he repeated then.

Tosh pulled away from him and stepped closer to Ben. "Gwen and I are a little curious. What did you see?"

"Sorry," Ben replied with a smile, but it was strained. "I mustn't talk about it with newbies." He checked his watch. "I have to leave now. My fiancee's waiting." With that, he left.

Jack sighed in relief. "The Retcon's working," he said and looked at Owen. "He didn't recognize us."

Owen crossed his arms. "I should hope so. It was a very concentrated dose."

Gwen shook her head. "No, something's wrong here. Why does he call himself 'Sean'?"

Jack shrugged. "I'm interested in what he's doing here."

Tosh folded her arms. "I suppose he was invited like everyone else."

Gwen frowned. "If that was the case, why the fake name?"

Jack nodded in agreement. "Plus, our encounter with Ben was an internal matter. I'm not surprised they found all the others. Each case called for public attention in some way. Cover stories can be verified, no matter how watertight. But Ben ..." He narrowed his eyes. "There was no public interest, no cover story. He was with us in the Hub when we were sent into the 30s and he received Retcon before he could write something about it. Nobody else can know. And the fake name ... something else is going on here." 

It started to rain and Jack turned up the collar of his coat. "Ianto, what have you got?" Gwen and Tosh began to look for their comm links while they returned to the SUV to protect themselves from the rain.

 _"I've lost Jessica,"_ Ianto said. _"I could follow her car to the city center, but then it vanished."_

The team took shelter in the warm SUV. Jack didn't start the engine. Gwen had her car here as well and he already had a plan for the rest of the evening in mind, but first he wanted to wait for Ianto's report.

When Gwen and Tosh also had put in their comm links, Ianto continued, _"Mr. Ben Bryan, a reporter for the Cardiff Daily News and a freelance investigative reporter for several magazines wrote several e-mails to his boss saying that he's researching a new story. He went undercover into a group which he calls the Shadow Cult. That explains the wrong name. He's there strictly on a professional basis. I'm in his computer right now and I can see all his research about the cult."_

Gwen wiped the damp hair off her forehead. "How did he find the cult?"

"Well, Ben did research about several cover stories Torchwood invented."

"But he received Retcon."

Owen nodded and turned in the passenger seat so he could look into the backseat. "Yes, enough to make him forget that all these cover stories were connected to the word 'Torchwood'. And I watched him. Nothing indicated that he remembers us, but he did the same research he did to find us in the first place."

Tosh's eyes widened in understanding. "Only this time, he doesn't associate the events with Torchwood, but with the cult. He's a journalist. He talks to people, makes them talk. Maybe someone told him about the cult."

 _"A neighbor of Jasmine Pierce's,"_ Ianto said. _"She was at the garden party and wrote a blog entry about strange creatures who killed her neighbor Roy. We reached her after she posted it online and deleted the entry, but Ben saw it. He investigated, talked to Mrs. Pierce, and she mentioned how much the cult helped to get over the death of her family."_

"Until she killed herself," Owen mumbled. He groaned in annoyance. "We'll probably never get rid of Ben, are we?"

Jack grinned. "Why so bitter? He's cute."

"And he knows too much. Again."

"Not really. We'll put an end to this cult and he can help us just by writing about it."

Ianto added, _"No one will believe him or anyone else that they've been in the afterlife. Everyone will think that they're victims of the cult's ideology."_ He paused, then said, _"But we have to make sure that he's got nothing about us that would cause him to turn up at the tourist office in half a year."_

Jack frowned. "You said there are no direct references to us."

_"Not in his computer, but he must have handwritten notes. I'm sure you remember his notebook."_

"All right," Jack said with a sigh. "Owen, Gwen, you'll pay Mr. Bryan a visit to make sure his flat's clean. Tosh, you go with them and wait in the car in case there are problems. Ianto, you wait for me in the Hub. I want to rewatch the video from tonight and I'll need your good eye." 

***

Ianto leaned wearily back in Jack's desk chair. Jack's hand was on his shoulder, warm and heavy, and his other one was propping him up against the desk. He was standing so close to Ianto that he could smell him – that strange mix of leather and wood and something spicy, masculine – and it was a wonderful combination which gave Ianto security. Ianto knew it was a smell that always surrounded Jack – pheromones which were normal for someone like Jack who came from the future. That very fact made the feeling of security even stronger. Jack's smell was not artificial, not aftershave, but a part of him and sometimes, Ianto wished that Jack would always be here; that the Doctor wouldn't come for a very long time; that he wouldn't take Jack away. Ianto was a bit ashamed for that wish because he knew how important it was to Jack to find the Doctor and perhaps an answer to his immortality; he knew how much he suffered, forced to live in the 21st century; he knew how much he wanted to travel through time and space as before.

"Hey," Jack said quietly next to his ear and startled Ianto from his thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"He wears a robe," Ianto replied quickly, pointing to the screen where they'd set up a loop for the video, so that Apollyon and Ben vanished in slow motion again and again. "Hard to say whether he uses technology or not. But there was some slight Rift activitiy."

"That would indicate a device such as a Vortex Manipulator," Jack said.

Ianto nodded and his eyes found the broken Vortex Manipulator on Jack's wrist. He took the device off rarely, as if it was still able to take him through time and space, as if it was a lifeline. The last remainder of an exciting, long life.

"The question is where he takes them," Jack said. "Certainly not into the afterlife."

Ianto looked at Jack thoughtfully. "What's it like?" he asked softly.

Jack swallowed. "Like nothing. It's not really ... you know, it's not like a room ... or a place. It's just ... dark. And the darkness lives."

"You mean death?"

Jack nodded slowly. "Or at least what we call death."

For a moment, there was silence and Jack's hand squeezed Ianto's shoulder, almost apologetically. As if he hadn't intended to tell Ianto that death was so bleak. But Ianto was thinking about something else entirely. "Jack," he said slowly, "something that Jake Adams said won't leave me alone."

Jack looked at him quizzically.

"About Torchwood Four."

Jack pursed his lips and straightened, taking a step back and crossing his arms. "Do we have to talk about this again, Ianto?"

"I think we need to. Jake Adams said that Torchwood Four caused the fall of Torchwood One, that they're waiting to do the same to us." Ianto looked thoughtfully at the screen. "What if this is the beginning? It might not be a coincidence that this cult only contacts people who have a connection to us."

"Adams was just trying to scare you."

Ianto sighed deeply. "Maybe." He turned his chair and looked up at Jack. "Maybe."

***

Ben didn't seem to have come home – the flat was dark. Owen, Tosh and Gwen waited for two hours, then they decided to go in. While Tosh waited in the car, ready to warn them in case Ben and his fianceé came home, Gwen and Owen entered the flat. They had just closed the door and turned on the flashlight when the lights came on. Ben Bryan leaned in the kitchen doorway and looked at them. "Owen, Gwen," he said, "I've been waiting for you." The two stared at him in surprise and Ben shrugged. "By the way, I think I'm immune to Retcon." 

***

He looked around as he walked into the nightly park. A petite woman in a long red coat was standing under a street lamp, waiting for him. The rain didn't seem to bother her, even though her wet black hair stuck to her head by now and the water ran down her delicate face. He put his hands into the pockets of his black coat and walked up to her. "I suppose you've heard it already." He held his umbrella over both of them but she stepped aside, letting the rain fall down on her. She seemed to like it.

"Torchwood Three has fallen into our trap," she said, her dark eyes flashing triumphantly. "Knowing that it's a trap, of course. Captain Harkness isn't an idiot. But he has a weakness and that is curiosity. He won't give up easily." She gave him a sideways glance. "Are we sure we want to play the long game? It would be easy for me and my team to break into the Torchwood base."

"And his team would fight you."

"We would overpower them."

He laughed mockingly. "And what will happen then? Captain Harkness is blessed with immortality and with an iron will. The latter also applies to his team. You would be able to kill one or two of them. The rest would stand in your way and ultimately win back control."

She brushed the hair behind her ears. "Maybe it makes me just nervous that it takes so long."

"We both knew from the beginning that it would not work out within a few days. I also don't understand the appeal behind rushing things. Have you ever heard of divide and conquer?"

"In the context of mathematics."

"Well, it is a good principle for warfare as well. A team that works together is difficult to beat." He raised an eyebrow and smiled. "One split team, however, can be defeated. And dividing takes time."

"I rely on your extensive knowledge." She crossed her arms. "After all, you're the one who can walk through time, Mr. Manger."

Bilis smiled. "Torchwood Four won't regret our cooperation. After all, we're aiming for the same goal."

Janice Abston shoved her hands into her coat pockets. "Divide and conquer," she said thoughtfully.

Bilis nodded. "Divide and conquer."


	14. Chapter 14

**13.**

 

Ianto put the last cup of coffee on a tray. It was late, but Ben's surprising confession had all of them gathered in the Hub's boardroom again and coffee was needed. He pushed open the glass door of the room with his shoulder and entered.

"This cult surfaced about a year ago," Ben said. His eyes were still glued to Hywel, like they had been from the start. The little Weevil was huddling at Owen's feet. "And that's not dangerous?" he asked.

"He's a baby," Owen replied, offering Hywel the bottle.

"Yes, but he'll grow up to become one of those monsters that attack people, right?"

Owen gave him a withering look, and Jack said, "Weevils live in the sewers. Very few come up and attack humans."

Ianto set down a cup of coffee on the boardroom table in front of Ben but he pushed it away. "With all due respect," he said, "no, thank you."

Ianto left the cup in case Ben would change his mind, while Jack gave Ben an amused smile. "No Retcon."

"Yes," Ben said. "I'm not entirely convinced of that." Ianto put his own cup down last and sat at the table. Ben continued, "I regained my memories of Torchwood pretty quickly. It was clear to me that I couldn't let it on, though, but I've been following your cases and researched older cases anew. If you know the truth, it's relatively easy to identify the cover stories the news are spreading. I did more research, waiting for a suitable opportunity to contact you. Instead, I found the cult."

"Through Mrs. Pierce," Jack replied.

"The death of her family was particularly interesting because there were rumors of strange events around that part of the city. I only had to speak to her once and she told me about the group who helped her to get over the death of her family. I did more research, found more evidence and finally decided to go there myself."

"How did you get into the cult?" Jack asked. "They only accept people who have a connection to Torchwood and yours is difficult to prove."

"How did you get in?" Ben asked with a smile. He looked around and leaned back in his chair.

Tosh and Gwen looked at each other and Jack chuckled. "You're good," he said.

"I lie well," Ben said with a shrug. "It's part of my job, so to speak, as an investigative reporter."

"What exactly do you want to expose in your report?" Jack asked.

"A cult that allows a journey to the afterlife? I thought it sounded interesting enough. Magazines love stuff like that. And pay well for it. I'm getting married and weddings cost money." He cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. "I thought they were just telling stories to make themselves more interesting."

The atmosphere suddenly became serious and Jack softly asked, "What did you see?"

"They must have given me drugs."

"What did you see?" Jack repeated firmly.

Ben looked at him and took a deep breath. "We were in the ... there was nothing. Everything was dark ... or bright ... I can't describe it. The only thing I could clearly see was him. Apollyon." He swallowed. "Can it be true? That I was in the afterlife?"

"No," Jack answered, "but maybe somewhere else."

Tosh said, "I went through the records of my scanners again. There's no evidence that Apollyon used a kind of technology to transport himself and Mr. Bryan."

Gwen frowned. "Yet, they were clearly somewhere else."

Ianto looked at Jack. "A natural gift?"

Jack shrugged. "This case raises more questions than it answers," he said in frustration. Then he smiled. ”Maybe we'll get some answers tomorrow when Gwen and Tosh will join Apollyon for a trip to the afterlife.” 

Gwen paled and Tosh's face became tense. ”Yes”, she said slowly, ”maybe.”

Jack checked his watch. "Okay, it's late. We're all tired. Time for a break. See you all tomorrow morning." He stood up. "Mr. Bryan, my office." 

***

"Close the door," Jack said after Ben had entered. Ben reluctantly obeyed and then remained close to the door as if he feared he would have to run. Jack leaned back against his desk with his arms folded, staring at Ben searchingly. Nervously, Ben smiled but Jack didn't think he was as insecure as he pretended to be. In his bright eyes, there was a calmness and serenity showing he couldn't quite hide. This was a man who was willing to die for his convictions. He would be the perfect candidate for a position in Jack's team but Jack would be turned down for sure if he offered him one. Ben distrusted Torchwood, as much as he was willing to help them out.

Ben cleared his throat. "You won't shoot me, will you?"

Jack made a point of taking his Webley out of its holster and weighed it in his hand. The wooden handle had become so worn that the texture was gone. After decades of use, the weapon merged perfectly with Jack's hand and fingers. He put the gun in a drawer. "No." He sat down in his chair and folded his hands on the table. "I want to talk." Ben sat down slowly in the empty chair in front of Jack's desk. Jack waited until he'd made himself comfortable, then asked, "Why are you here? Why didn't you continue to act clueless? There must be something you want to get out of this."

Ben let out a breath and ran a hand through his blond hair. "I don't want to blackmail you."

"But you must have a reason not to write about Torchwood until now."

"I thought it would be the wrong move." Ben shrugged. "I already told Dr. Harper that I'd like to have exclusive rights should you ever go public."

"You ask for a lot," Jack said. "You realize how much trust I would have to invest in you."

Ben laughed mockingly. "What is the alternative to Retcon? Since you apparently don't want to kill me, how could you make me keep quiet?"

Jack shrugged. "I could freeze you, lock you up ... I can think of at least ten more ways if you give me some time."

Ben swallowed visibly, and for the first time that evening, Jack saw something like fear in his eyes. "But you won't."

"I won't?"

"You're not that kind of man." Ben leaned back in his chair and pointed a finger at Jack. "You are the kind of man who travels back in time to save his lover." He grinned, well aware of the memories his words brought forth.

Jack swallowed the grief that the mention of Matthew brought and smiled. "Does that say anything about how far I'm willing to go to protect Torchwood from a journalist? You don't know me, Mr. Bryan." He let the words hang in the air for a few moments before he nodded slowly. "And the second you even twitch towards the idea of publishing anything about Torchwood, I'll know about it."

Ben shook his head. "I don't believe you."

"Did we not find all your notes and delete your documents from your computer?"

"Which wasn't exactly legal."

"Torchwood doesn't have to worry about laws. As long as you keep quiet, you will get your exclusive story."

Ben nodded slowly, a triumphant grin spreading across his face. "Got it." He stood up and turned to leave. At the door, he hesitated. "Captain, I never heard ... what became of Matthew York?"

Jack looked at him earnestly. "He's dead."

"That's ..." Ben swallowed. "I'm sorry, Captain."

Jack nodded and Ben gave him a small smile before he left. 

***

Jack's quarters were not much more than a bunker underneath his office, but it was the only home that Jack had. The clothes in the chest of drawers and the few things in his nightstand, however, weren't his most valuable possessions. Those were all stowed in a satchel, waiting hidden near the invisible lift. It was waiting for the Doctor just like Jack. It was the bag that Jack would grab, should the prophecy finally be fulfill and the Doctor return. Even Ianto didn't know about the satchel. Jack's most valuable possessions were also his most personal. In the bag, there weren't just fading photos of Jack and his family back on Boeshane, but also mementos of his long life on Earth. Little things like tickets for a night at the movies which he had spent with Estelle, or Michael's rattle. Things that Jack didn't want to leave without. With a sigh, he turned on his back, stretching out on the narrow bed, and hummed softly along to _Deep In The Heart_ playing on the record player in the corner. He just wished he could take people with him, too. Then he would probably not be that scared of going away. This team meant more to him than he'd ever expected, even though he'd promised himself – had made sure – not to get attached to anyone. Because he didn't like goodbyes and this one would be painful.

He was startled a bit when a shadow darkened the hatch to his quarters and Ianto climbed down the ladder.

Jack sat up and switched on the bedside lamp. "You're still here. I sent all of you home."

Ianto put his hands in his pockets and looked around. He always did, as if expecting to find something new everytime he came down here. "I couldn't leave yet."

Jack narrowed his eyes questioningly. "Why not?"

Ianto sat on the edge of the bed. "I had to talk to you."

Jack grinned. "You're making me very curious."

Ianto cleared his throat and avoided his eyes. "I'm serious," he said softly.

"Okay." Jack nodded and swung his feet off the bed, so he sat next to Ianto.

"I spoke to Owen and Gwen about my empathy and they don't mind me using it."

"So you only need Toshiko's vote now."

"And yours," Ianto added softly.

Jack stared at him in surprise. "Mine?"

"You have an opinion as well," Ianto answered, "don't you?"

"Empathy might be useful when we're dealing with-"

"Not your professional opinion," Ianto interrupted softly. He looked Jack in the eye. "I would be able to read your feelings, right? Your barriers can't hide them from me."

"Correct," Jack said. "No mental training in the universe can stop an empath from reading emotions."

"So what do you think?"

Jack took his time with the answer, knowing that Ianto wanted him to be honest. He thought about it and finally said, "I think that if there's someone I can trust to look at my emotional world and keep it to themselves, then it's you."

Ianto ducked his head and smiled a little embarrassed. In the dim light of his bedside lamp, Jack could see that he was blushing and that made him grin. Ianto looked back up at him. "Good." But there was something in his blue eyes – maybe a question or doubt ...

"What's wrong?" Jack asked. "I can see that something's bothering you."

Ianto rubbed his forehead. "I don't have it completely under control yet."

Jack nodded in understanding.

Ianto continued, "If we're both alone and I'm still in training ... it could be that I'm projecting emotions that could be ... awkward."

"How so?"

Ianto stared at his folded hands. "My feelings ... for you."

Jack sighed deeply. He reached out a hand and turned Ianto's head in his direction to make him look at him. "Empathy is a two way street. You'll learn to control the ability, but at the beginning, it may happen that you project feelings and enable others to feel what you feel. That's not something _we_ will have to be able to cope with – it's something _you_ will have to handle. You have to be able to look us in the eyes, Ianto. You have to be at peace with your own feelings." He smiled and his thumb stroked Ianto's cheek. It was getting late and Ianto needed a shave, but Jack liked the feeling of rough stubble, so he grinned even wider before he became serious again. "Empathy is something very intimate. More so than telepathy."

"I don't know if I can do that."

Jack chuckled. "Oh, you can. Believe me, that's just who you are. The question is: Are you sure that you want it?" Ianto stared at him. Jack stared back calmly. "Whatever you decide, Ianto, is perfectly fine for me. Take your time. Developing your empathy is a decision that can be made only once. If you train the ability, then you have it forever." The loud ringing of Jack's office phone intruded, making them both wince. Jack sighed in annoyance and climbed up the ladder to his office. "Harkness?"

_"Jack, it's Helen."_

"Helen," Jack said with concern. She would never call in the middle of the night if it weren't important. Actually, Flat Holm called almost never – they wrote e-mails. "What's wrong?"

 _"It's about Bleddyn,"_ Helen answered and she sounded upset. _"We would have called earlier, but ..."_

"What about him?"

_"Since you left, he's been different. Attentive, more active ... aggressive. We had to lock him in a padded cell yesterday. He's unstoppable, Jack."_

"I'm on my way."

 _"No,"_ Helen said quickly. _"He's calling for Ianto."_

Jack froze. The bad feeling he'd started to have since Bleddyn attacked Ianto grew stronger and for a moment, his chest felt too tight to breathe.

_"Bleddyn wants to see Ianto."_


	15. Chapter 15

**14.**

 

It was still dark when Ianto and Jack left the Hub a few hours later and went to the pier where Bobby's boat was towed. The November morning was the coldest one yet and their breath left little clouds in the air, which rose like ghosts into the black sky. Bobby was waiting with his boat at the end of the pier. The engine was already running and the cabin was brightly lit. Old rock music seeped through the open door into the morning and Bobby was leaning against the cabin wall, the wool cap pulled deep onto his wrinkled face and his hands buried in the pockets of his black jacket.

Jack held Ianto back when he tried to climb aboard and pulled him closer. In the light of the lanterns that lit the pier, Ianto looked paler than usual and Jack suddenly felt like he was making a mistake. "Are you sure you want to go alone?" he asked.

Ianto nodded. "Absolutely. Jack, we don't know how long it'll take. Maybe it's nothing and he calms down as soon as he can see me. And I'm not alone there, anyway. You should take care of the case."

Jack sighed deeply. "Just be careful."

Ianto smiled. "You should be careful. And in the event I won't be back in time: Good luck."

Jack shrugged. "We won't run into problems. Gwen and Tosh will take part in that rite of passage and then we'll put an end to that nightmare."

"Could be dangerous," Ianto said earnestly.

"Bleddyn, too."

The two smiled at each other and Jack pressed a kiss to Ianto's cold lips. Ianto avoided his eyes and, embarrased, turned his head in Bobby's direction. Jack knew that public gestures weren't part of their relationship but he didn't care right now. He couldn't ignore his instincts and they were warning him from a looming danger. The only thing keeping him from accompanying Ianto was the _Apollyon_ case they wanted to finish up today. Priorities had to be set. As hard as it was.

"Hey!" Bobby called. "Have you chased me out of bed to watch you make goo-goo eyes at each other or can we go?"

Jack rolled his eyes and handed Ianto a bundle of money for Bobby. "You can go now." He watched Ianto climb on board and remained standing at the pier until the boat had disappeared into the darkness. 

***

The way back to the Hub gave Jack the chance to banish his concern for Ianto for a while and concentrate on the _Apollyon_ case. Tonight, they were planning to confront Jessica and close down the cult. At least Jack hoped it would be as easy as it sounded.

As he left the invisible elevator that went directly from the Roald Dahl Plass into the main Hub, Jack paused. Owen stood at the foot of the stairs that led up to the desks, looking at him with a determined expression. Jack had forgotten that Owen currently spent his nights at the Hub. No doubt he had heard that Ianto had left – and not to head home.

Jack noted in surprise that Owen had the Weevil baby with him. He held him in his arms like a very ugly baby.

Jack grinned. "Cute," he teased.

"Where did Ianto go?" Owen asked, ignoring the remark.

"Home."

"I'm not stupid, Jack. I heard you answering a call and then you and Ianto argue over whether he should go alone. And now he's gone."

Jack crossed his arms. "You eavesdropped?"

"No, I was busy with Hywel's blood tests in the med bay. It's not my fault if you don't see me."

Jack walked over to Owen. "I sent all of you home."

"I slept in the base, Jack. I have the baby to take care of."

"What's wrong with him?"

"Where did Ianto go, Jack?"

Jack was almost proud. Owen wasn't one of the people who were quickly dissuaded by something and when he noticed something was off or thought to be excluded from something, he wanted to hear the truth. In his opinion, he had a right to as Jack's second in command and usually, Jack agreed with him. But Flat Holm was different. The suffering there would propel Owen into the desperate determination to find a cure and there wasn't one. Owen might try to seem cold and distant, but in truth, he was one of the most dedicated doctors Jack knew, and it would be a waste of his talent to deal with Flat Holm. It would break him not to be able to help. So it had to remain a secret. "I can't tell you."

Owen's eyes narrowed. "Bloody secrets!"

"Why are you still awake? It's late." Jack was aware that the change in topic was crude, but it didn't matter. Owen already knew that Jack avoided the truth. And he was furious about it, Jack could see that. However, he could do nothing against it, either.

Therefore, he relented. "Hywel's not well."

Jack stepped closer to Owen and now noticed that the baby appeared to be asleep. Jack reached out and touched Hywel's head. The wrinkled skin was leathery and dry. Jack smiled.

"He hardly eats ... I've tried everything. Infusions don't help. Anita doesn't want him."

"Owen," Jack said softly, "we talked about natural selection."

"If I believed in natural selection, I wouldn't have gone into medicine."

"Owen-"

"I know," he said sharply, "but can't give up yet. I'll find a solution. I have to." He turned away and walked off. 

***

Flat Holm was still asleep when Ianto arrived, which meant that all the patients were in their rooms. It was unusually quiet without the television and the constant murmur of some of the patients and the silence was particularly oppressing in the former war bunker.

Helen and Toby led Ianto past all rooms to a corridor that was protected by a door. They passed the door with a code and then stopped in front of another door. The metal was old and rusty and the air in this little dead end corridor seemed more stale than in the rest of the bunker.

Helen dug her hands into the pockets of her purple cardigan and turned to Ianto. "We have three of these cells," she explained softly while Toby typed a code into the lock, "all shielded by a second door from the rest of the bunker. The room is monitored by a camera. During the last few hours, Bleddyn hasn't moved."

The lock opened with a clacking sound that echoed in the silence. Toby opened the door and Ianto gave him a grateful glance before entering. Toby stayed right behind him. The walls, the floor and the ceiling of the cell were covered with gray padding. The only light came from a lamp that hung behind thick glass on the ceiling. Bleddyn was sitting huddled in a corner of the cell. Ianto wasn't sure whether he'd noticed them. His head didn't lift from his knees.

"Bleddyn," he said softly. The padded cell smothered the sound of his voice and he subconsciously pulled his shoulder up to protect himself against the oppressive atmosphere in this tiny room.

Bleddyn didn't react for a moment, but then he slowly raised his head. And a relieved cry escaped his lips. He fell forward onto all fours, staring at Ianto with tears in his eyes. "Mae'n ddrwg gennym," he whispered.

Ianto took a step toward him. "What are you sorry for?"

Bleddyn stared at him. "The attack," he said softly. "For a long ... long ... a long time ... I was alone." His voice was hoarse, as if he'd been silent or screaming for a long time. His green eyes stared pleadingly at Ianto.

Ianto stepped closer and crouched down to look directly into Bleddyn's eyes. "Where are you from?"

"From an evil place."

"Were you born in Wales?"

"No." For a moment, Bleddyn seemed to look for the right word and he smiled briefly when he found it. "Birmingham."

Ianto returned the brief smile politely. "Why are you speaking in Welsh if you can speak English?"

"We are in Wales," Bleddyn said, as if that was the most obvious answer in the world.

Ianto caught his smile getting bigger. "Yes, we are." He became serious. "Bleddyn, why did you want to see me?"

Bleddyn ran a trembling hand through his brown hair and, with a suspicious look in Toby's direction, whispered, "You're the key."

Ianto frowned. "The key to what?" Bleddyn didn't answer, so Ianto changed the subject and decided to ask again later. "You were at Torchwood One when it fell."

"Cybermen and Daleks," Bleddyn whispered and pressed anxiously against the wall. He stared at Ianto seriously and then it was as if he changed. Suddenly, a totally different person was sitting in front of him and quite calmly said, "That was just the beginning. Torchwood One was only the first step. I've seen the future."

Ianto leaned closer to Bleddyn. "The future? What did you see?"

"Torchwood Two was dead." Bleddyn cocked his head to the side and his eyes glazed over, as if he could see the future right now. "And Torchwood Three was gone." 

***

Jack frowned, as the shrill sound of the telephone filtered through his office and checked his watch. It was just seven and none of their contacts normally called at this time. Neither Tosh no Gwen were here and Owen was still taking a shower, which made Hywel Jack's only company. He was sitting huddled beside Jack's chair on the floor and refused to take the bottle Jack had been offering him for the last ten minutes.

So it was almost a relief that the phone rang. Jack cleared his throat. "Harkness."

 _"Captain, I'm sorry to disturb you this early, but I just couldn't wait any longer to make your acquaintance."_ The voice on the other end was that of a man – friendly, young and yet serious.

"You'd be surprised how many people say that to me," Jack replied with a grin and leaned back in his chair. "And who is my fan?"

 _"Harold Saxon,"_ the other man answered, and Jack's smile froze. Saxon didn't give him time to respond. He continued, _"I'd like to talk about Torchwood's future with you."_


	16. Chapter 16

**15.**

 

Jack leaned on his desk and pressed the handset of the phone firmly against the ear. "You shouldn't have this number. The Prime Minister had no right-"

 _"Don't blame him,"_ Saxon said. _"I can be very persuasive. You know, all the polls concerning the election of the next Prime Minister are in my favour. I'll be elected and that means that in a few months, I would be talking to you anyway."_

Jack shook his head and was lost for words for a moment. Over the last few months, the Prime Minister had increasingly revealed Torchwood matters to his Minister of Defense and challenger in the upcoming elections. It was a development that Jack didn't like at all, but against which he couldn't do a lot. "This is totally unacceptable. Will the whole cabinet know about us soon?"

_"Captain Harkness, there was a time the Prime Minister knew nothing about Torchwood. Things changed with Harriet Jones, though, and although the good woman didn't feel up to the job anymore, it's well worthwhile to think about revealing Torchwood to the whole of the cabinet."_

"UNIT is the official contact for the government. Torchwood belongs to the Queen," Jack replied.

_"With due respect to Her Majesty – she's not the final authority."_

Jack pursed his lips. He'd feared for a very long time that Torchwood would eventually become a political pawn and now, it apparently happened. The blame lay with Yvonne Hartmann, who as the leader of Torchwood One had considered it beneficial to ally with Harriet Jones. Officially because it gave her better opportunities to speak for Torchwood's budget. Unofficially, however, it had been known that Harriet Jones had had contact with the Doctor and Yvonne in her firm determination to find the Time Lord had considered a close contact with Harriet to be advantageous.

 _"Listen,"_ Saxon said, _"I have no intention to become your enemy. On the contrary: If I am elected, I want to enable Torchwood to get more fundings. We both want the same thing after all."_

Jack frowned suspiciously. "And that is?"

Saxon laughed. _"Meet me. Then we can talk. I'm in Newport at the moment."_

"And I'm working a case."

 _"It's not my intention to interrupt your work. I'll be here for a few days. Call me when it suits you and we'll make an appointment."_ With that, Saxon rang off. 

***

Ianto had rested for a few hours, but sleep hadn't come. He hadn't informed Jack about Bleddyn's latest, alarming words yet. First, he wanted to understand them himself.

After a light breakfast, he returned to Bleddyn's padded cell and tried to get him to talk to him. But whatever he did, Bleddyn remained silent. He just sat in his corner of the cell, staring into space. It was as if he'd completely withdrawn into himself.

Around noon, Ianto called Jack to update him. Jack seemed concerned about Bleddyn's words, but not as much as Ianto had expected. In fact, he seemed a little distracted himself, but Ianto couldn't ask what was going on as Ben chose that moment to enter the Hub and the team gathered for a briefing.

When Ianto returned to Bleddyn's cell, he looked up at him and unexpectedly said, "I want to go out."

Ianto stared at him in surprise, then he stepped closer and crouched in front of Bleddyn. "Where to?"

"Please. Fresh air. Just for a few minutes."

Ianto sighed undecidedly, but in the end, he was aware that he didn't have much choice. If he wanted Bleddyn to talk, it would probably be constructive to let him have his way. "Okay, but I'll go with you."

Bleddyn smiled happily. "Good." 

***

The evening came faster than Gwen had hoped. Jack and Owen took her and Tosh to the church in the SUV. They parked one street away but would come closer as soon as the meeting was underway, just in case. Ben had left them at the Hub and taken his own car here. The camera on his shirt showed that he was already in the church.

Jack turned off the engine of the SUV and glanced at the latptop that Owen was holding on his lap. Ben was speaking with a few members of the community. Jack looked back over his shoulder to the back seat where Gwen and Tosh were sitting. "Alright," he said while Gwen nervously tucked her gun into the waistband of her jeans and pulled the baggy sweater down to hide it. Jack smiled reassuringly at her. "You'll get through the meeting and let Apollyon take you to the other side."

Gwen looked at Tosh, who nodded at Jack. She seemed calmer than Gwen felt.

"After the meeting, try to get a hold on Jessica and keep her there. Then we'll come in and ask her a few questions and then we'll close the cult down. I spoke to Owen and we decided against the use of Retcon with the community members."

Owen nodded in satisfaction. "We would have to erase several months and that's something we should avoid."

"We'll stick a message on the door that the group was discontinued. Jessica's the only one we'll need to retcon."

Gwen frowned. "What about Apollyon? How do we get to him?"

"We hope that Jessica can lead us to him. We need more information about him before we set a trap. He's clearly not human. We can't just go in and storm the meeting. There are too many innocents people involved." He checked his watch. "Today, we'll close down the cult, Apollyon comes later. You should go."

Owen turned in the passenger seat to smirk at them. "Don't let the Grim Reaper bite you."

Gwen rolled her eyes and got out of the car. 

***

Flat Holm offered enough opportunities to walk and enjoy the fresh air. Ianto spent the afternoon with Bleddyn outside, even though the cold started to penetrate his thick coat. Bleddyn walked tirelessly over the rugged coastline and vast meadows, as if his spirits had been rekindled. He didn't speak and didn't even seem to notice Ianto, but he didn't run away either. He took his time and Ianto could follow him around easily. But ever so slowly, it was getting dark and Ianto knew that Helen was waiting for them back at the facility. "Bleddyn," he said gently, "we've been here all afternoon. We should go back inside."

Bleddyn shook his head. He stopped and stared out towards the sea, the lights of Cardiff shining in the darkness. "Not yet."

"It's getting dark," Ianto said. Bleddyn didn't listen. Ianto stepped up beside him. "I don't want to get two of the nurses to bring you back, Bleddyn."

"There!" Bleddyn said suddenly, pointing at the sea.

Ianto followed his gaze. He saw it too: A light that crossed the dark sea and approached them. "A boat. No one should be coming here this late." He swallowed and pulled his mobile out of his pocket, hesitating. He knew that Jack and the others would now be busy with the cult, but he didn't quite know what to do. There could be a completely innocent explanation for the boat – the Rift victim institution wasn't the only settlement on the island and there were boats that brought tourists every day – but not this late in the evening. He looked back to the boat and was surprised to see Bleddyn directly in front of him and in his hand ... the rock hit him cunningly. He fell to the ground and felt unconsciousness descend.

Bleddyn was bending over him. "Don't worry," he said. "I'm expecting guests."


	17. Chapter 17

**16.**

 

Gwen almost turned and ran when Apollyon approached her. Not even this close up she could see his face; as if the darkness under the hood thickened like a living thing. But she forced herself to remain calm. Tosh's serene presence helped a lot. Gwen had to admit that she hadn't expected Tosh to remain so composed. She spent many missions inside the Hub, coordinating the team or focusing on the scientific and technical parts. On the other hand, it was obvious that Tosh would be tough enough – Jack wouldn't have hired her otherwise. Gwen's eyes roamed over the group sat in a semicircle around her and met Ben's gaze. He was holding his dictaphone hidden in the pocket of his hoodie again. When he noticed her gaze, he gave her a reassuring smile.

Jessica's cheerful voice Gwen ripped from her thoughts. "Tonight, two new members will see the truth that founds our community."

Gwen tensed as Apollyon came even closer. He held out his hands. Gwen looked at Tosh and then Apollyon again when they reached out and took his hands. Gwen became dizzy and she had to close her eyes.

When she opened them again, she was ... somewhere. It was dark, but bright, warm and still cold. And it was so quiet. She couldn't see Tosh or Apollyon. All around her was just ... nothing. She suddenly felt like a child who had been left alone, helpless and lonely and so small. She thought she heard murmuring voices, but she couldn't be sure. She didn't know how long she stood there with tears in her eyes, trembling ... when she was suddenly back in the church.

Tosh stood beside her and was gasping as if she hadn't breathed for a long time. Jessica said something, but Gwen couldn't hear her. Everything still looked slightly blurred and unreal.

Tosh's hand closed around her wrist and pulled her closer. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Gwen answered, though she wasn't sure. She felt as if someone had taken a part of her, as if she had lost something – perhaps the naivete with which she'd looked at life after death before tonight. Maybe people couldn't live without this idea of a paradise, a good end to everything. Maybe Carys, Mrs. Pierce and Max had killed themselves for that very reason. Maybe Gwen would do it, too.

Ben suddenly stood next to them and Gwen startled, pulling away a bit. He made an apologetic face, but just said breathlessly, "You've been gone for almost an hour."

Gwen looked around. The community slowly began to leave the church. Jessica was saying goodbye to everyone at the door.

Gwen shook off her trepidation and looked up at Ben, who was staring at her anxiously. "You should go," she said. "We'll see you later."

"Keep me informed," he said. "Promise?"

Gwen nodded. "Promise."

He smiled and went to get his coat. Jessica now had noticed that Gwen and Tosh had stayed behind and joined them. "Do you have any questions?"

Gwen smiled nervously. "It was ... it was weird."

She saw Jack and Owen come through the door of the church, both pointing their guns at Jessica.

She didn't notice them, however, and laughed. "That's a typical reaction. Believe me, in time, you will be able to handle it and fit it into your life." She checked her watch. "And now I really have to go."

Behind her, Jack said, "Not so fast."

Jessica whirled around to him, startled. She raised her hands when she saw Jack's Webley and Owen's Beretta pointed at her. "What's going on?" she asked.

"We have questions," Jack answered. Gwen and Tosh went around Jessica to stand beside Jack and Owen. They also drew their guns, but refrained from pointing them at Jessica. Owen and Jack had the situation under control.

"And you think I can give you the answers?" Jessica asked, surprised. Suddenly, she let her hands down and laughed. "I could, but I won't."

"Get your hands up, Jessica!" Jack ordered.

"You think I'm dangerous?" she asked with a grin. Gwen suddenly felt like there was no air and stumbled against Owen, clinging to his arm. Jessica raised her eyebrows. "I'm not the one you need to worry about."

Owen's gun fell to the ground and then stumbled to his knees, pulling Gwen with him. Jack's voice barely penetrated the noise in Gwen's ears. "You can breathe!" he yelled. "He's manipulating you!"

Now Gwen saw the dark, blurry shape of Apolleyon in a corner of the room.

"It's not real!" Jack said loudly. Gwen gasped. It _felt_ real. Jack cursed and then said, "Focus on me. Everything else is not important. Concentrate just ..."

A shot sounded and Gwen heard a body fall to the ground. Jack was suddenly silent. And the world went black. 

***

The ground rocked. It was cold and he heard a rushing noise, drowned out by a constant hum like from a motor. Ianto furrowed his brow in confusion and slowly opened his eyes. He was in the small, dirty cabin of a boat and the rain was drumming on the roof and beating against the windows. Before him, Ianto saw the worn sneakers of a man. He slowly raised his eyes and blinked to clear the blurred image. "Bleddyn?" he asked, puzzled.

"Joseph Nelson," he corrected him and smiled mockingly. "It's nice to hear my real name again."

Ianto suddenly remembered. Bleddyn's wish to take a walk, the boat, the rock. Ianto slowly sat up and leaned against the wall. Bleddyn ... Joseph had changed clothes and was now wearing a dark raincoat and jeans. Ianto closed his eyes for a moment, beaten. He'd let himself be captured. Who knew what Joseph was planning on doing now? Or for whom he worked. He frowned when he remembered something. "Nelson," he said. The name was familiar, but his mind was still slow and clumsy.

Before he could think about it further, a woman stepped into his field of vision. She seemed out of place in her elegant red coat and dark skirt with which she wore black high heels. Her smile was thin, not real, a mere formality. "Mr. Jones." She held up his mobile. "I rejected some of your calls, I hope that you don't mind. Someone named Jack really seemed to want to talk to you." She put the phone in her coat pocket. "I suppose that's Jack Harkness?"

Ianto closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. The headache got worse, making it difficult for him to concentrate. He gulped down a wave of nausea. "Who are you?"

"That's disappointing. I thought you were some kind of encyclopedia where Torchwood's concerned. After all, that's the reason why we invited you here tonight."

Joseph grinned at Ianto. "For months, I get nobody else but Captain Jack Harkness. I should thank you for sticking your nose into Flat Holm. We'd hoped for Harper, or at least Sato or Cooper, but you are the jackpot."

Ianto stared angrily at them. "Who the hell are you?"

The woman smiled and held out a hand. "Janice Abston and Joseph Nelson, Torchwood Four. Mr. Jones, we have a few questions." 

"Torchwood 4 was neutralized," Ianto said firmly.

Joseph crossed his arms and mockingly replied, "We know. We sat in the first row when it happened."

Janice gave him a reproachful look. "We were able to escape," she explained. "Well, almost. Unfortunately, our base is lost."

Ianto swallowed and looked frantically for a way out, but he had no weapon, Janice had his phone and they were on the ocean. He needed more time to think. "How did you get here?"

"An incident a few months ago. We returned – and turned Torchwood One to ashes."

Suddenly, everything made sense: Why Joseph knew Rose, why there had been Void energy surrounding him ... "When the Cybermen came over, you used their door to escape the Void."

Janice looked at Joseph. "He's smart."

"He worked for Torchwood One," Joseph replied, "and he survived the battle."

Ianto shook his head. "You didn't destroy Torchwood. You just claim you did."

Janice laughed. "The Cybermen didn't pass the Void between the worlds without assistance, Mr. Jones. There are things in the Void, which would have prevented them doing so, but ..." She crouched down. "... we helped them. We opened the doors." She rolled her eyes. "They have no idea, of course. They believe they did it alone." She straightened up. "Even machines are not immune to arrogance."

"What do you want from me?" Ianto asked.

"Answers."

"To what?"

A smile spread on Janice's small face. "We have questions, Mr. Jones. About the base."

Ianto swallowed and unconsciously pressed closer to the wall behind him. "I won't answer."

"That's not necessary." She looked at Joseph. "Ready?"

"He's strong. I already tried to break through his shields and he stopped me."

"Well, then you'll just have to try again, won't you, Joseph?" Janice asked, her voice like steel. She looked down at Ianto. "Until we have answers."

Joseph took a deep breath and nodded slowly. Suddenly, Ianto felt another consciousness pushing against his. The lights of the cabin were becoming glaringly bright – intolerable – and dizziness seized him. His hands clenched into fists against the floor, looking for support and not finding any. He gasped. Joseph's consciousness pushed harder against his barriers, looking for a weak spot and it hurt worse than any migraine that Ianto had ever had. He tried to push Joseph away, but he was strong and the blow to the head lessened Ianto's ability to concentrate. The pain increased and Ianto was almost relieved to hear that even Joseph's breathing sounded erratic and strained. Gathering all his strength, he managed to push Joseph away.

His last thought was to wonder whether Joseph and Janice would do anything for his psi shock or just let him die; then the world tilted out of sight. 

***

Owen woke with a gasp ... and hit his head – hard. He cried out, putting a hand against his forehead. "Shit!" He heard a man groan and carefully opened his eyes. Half of his body was lying underneath a low table. Carefully, he rolled to his side and sat up. He was in a basement room which was lit only by a dim light. Old furniture that caught dust and cobwebs surrounded him and in a corner, a pile of paint buckets was hapharzadly discarded.

And in front of that pile, Tosh and Gwen, unconscious. Owen scrambled hastily to them and took their pulse.

"We're in the basement of the church," Jack said and Owen whirled around to him, startled. He stood at the single narrow window, which was barred. No escape. Ben sat leaning against the wall, rubbing his head.

Owen frowned in confusion. "What are you still doing here?" He helped Tosh to sit up who was just regaining consciousness.

"I stayed," Ben said.

Resigned, Jack said, "You should have left like we'd agreed."

Now, Owen noticed that Jack was holding his mobile up to the window and dialing – again and again. "Jack?" he asked.

"Ianto isn't answering."

Gwen slowly sat up and rubbed her forehead. "Maybe he's out of reach. Where did you send him?"

"He could be out of reach," Jack agreed and ignored the question. He didn't sound convinced.

Sighing, Owen got up. "The door?"

Jack looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Do you think we'd still be here if we could open the door?"

Owen pulled a face and walked towards the door. It was made of wood and didn't seem very stable. He reached out his hand to turn the handle and reared back with a scream when he got an electric shock.

"A shield," Jack explained. "Torchwood equipment." He smiled bitterly. "Kinda ironic, isn't it?" 

***

Ianto gasped and tried to find hold on something, but he found nothing. He whimpered and closed his eyes, clenching his hands into fists. A headache produced colored dots on his closed eyelids and the exhaustion ...

Ianto cried out as pain exploded in his side and he pulled back, curling up against the wall. Panting, he opened his eyes and saw the blurry outlines of Joseph and Janice. He closed his eyes again as he embraced the familiar exhaustion that came with Tiramin. He knew his body needed the chance to recover from the psi shock and although he was in danger, he began to fall asleep ...

Again, the sharp pain in his side. Gasping, Ianto opened his eyes. Joseph was squatting in front of him, a stun gun in his hand. "Time to wake up, Sleeping Beauty."

Janice crossed her arms and angrily said, "Stop the games. Try again."

"His shields are stronger than we thought."

"Well," Janice replied and prepared a syringe, "you're highly trained. We'll just have to continue this until he's too weak to fight back." She smiled at Ianto. "We have enough Tiramin."


	18. Chapter 18

**17.**

 

As the door to the basement room opened with a squeal, Jack turned away from the window and put his mobile in his pocket quickly. Not only was he unable to reach Ianto, but he also didn't seem to reach anyone else either. Therefore, he assumed that the mobile's signal was blocked by something. That gave him some hope. Maybe Ianto would return from Flat Holm soon and notice that something was wrong. Then he would come and help them. But first ... he stared grimly at Jessica, who was leaning in the doorway with a mocking smile, her arms crossed. "Captain Harkness," she said. "I really thought you would be more of a challenge."

Owen stormed past Jack toward her. "What is this shit?" At the last moment, he remembered the shield and stopped.

Jessica ignored him. She reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out a remote control, which Jack suspected could deactivate the shield. Playing with it absently, Jessica said, "I know someone who wants to talk to you, Captain, but you would have to show some manners."

Jack stepped forward and put a hand on Owen's shoulder. He turned away with a frustrated noise and went to the others who were waiting near the window. Jack asked, "Who?"

Jessica looked at him suspiciously, then shook her head. "No, I don't trust you." She reached back and pulled a gun from her waistband, pointing it at the team. "No nonsense," she said, disabling the shield. Then she pulled a mobile out of her pocket and dialed before holding it out for Jack to take.

He took the mobile suspiciously and lifted it to his ear. The ring tone sounded a couple of times, then the phone was answered. _"Hello?"_ A woman's voice, soft and deep.

"Captain Jack Harkness," he said.

The woman didn't answer for a moment. Instead, the sound of ocean waves came through the phone and then a shuffling noise before she replied, _"If I wanted to, I could kill your entire team this very moment."_

Jack closed his eyes. "Janice?"

_"Yes."_

"How is that possible?"

_"We were able to escape. We had help."_

"What do you want?"

_"The end of Torchwood for starters. You're standing in our way."_

Jack turned away from Jessica and looked at his team and Ben, who were staring at him curiously. "And we'll continue to do so."

 _"I wouldn't be so sure about that,"_ Janice replied sarcastically.

"The cult was your creation, wasn't it?"

_"Yes."_

"All this just to get our attention."

Janice laughed. _"Your ego is as big as ever. We didn't just want your attention, Captain. We wanted your victims. Memories deleted with Retcon are not lost forever. You can gain access to them."_

Jack frowned. "What for?"

_"To learn. Carys and Max had the most interesting information for us. That's what we thought at the beginning at least. Until your friend Ben entered the picture."_

Automatically, Jack stared at Ben who raised his eyebrows questioningly. "What are you talking about?"

_"The layout of the base, the information on the team, a couple of brief but illuminating insights to your arsenal – all in one pretty little head."_

Jack turned away from his team and put his hand on his hip. It landed near his Webley and Jessica made a warning noise. Jack raised his hand to show her that he wouldn't attack. He would risk a bullet wound anytime, but this was the lives of his team Jessica was threatening. "Why are you calling me?"

_"To give you a choice. It's not too late for us to shake hands and work together. I always liked you, Harkness, that's why you get this offer."_

Jack went into a corner and lowered his voice angrily, "I don't even have to think about that. Torchwood Four's a threat to humanity and I won't cooperate with you."

Janice was silent for a long moment, then she said, _"Fine. Your decision. The Shadow Cult will be gone tomorrow morning, Captain. We have everything we need. None of the members will remember it. Well, except for Mr. Bryan since he'll spend the night with you."_ She hung up. 

***

Ianto sobbed as he regained consciousness. His whole body ached. His muscles were cramped and stiff, his head was punding and he felt like he could not get enough air. By now, he didn't try to hide his trembling hands and he didn't have the strength to show his defiance. All his energy went into warding off Joseph's attacks, even though the healing sleep of the Tiramin was denied. How often he'd suffered a psi shock tonight, he couldn't say, and he started to wonder whether the damage would remain permanent.

Joseph was leaning against the wall, pale and trembling, and two times, he'd hurried outside to be sick. Janice didn't seem to care about him. Ianto wondered if Joseph was aware that he was tortured just as much as Ianto was, and whether he would eventually say “no”.

Janice was preparing a new syringe with Tiramin. "Did you know that no one has any idea what the long term effects of such a large dose of Tiramin could be? You received it eight times tonight – and I think you know that we won't let you go. So let Joseph in."

Ianto took a deep breath, but he couldn't speak, so he just shook his head.

Janice shrugged. "Joesph," she said.

He gave her a reluctant glance, but obeyed immediately and approached Ianto.

"This will probably not be necessary," someone suddenly said. In the cabin, another man had appeared: Old, dressed elegantly ... Ianto needed a moment, but then he recognized him.

Bilis Manger, the clock maker.

Bilis smiled and clasped his white-gloved hands together. "Granted, Joseph's skills are impressive, but I can get to the information we need a bit easier." He reached into the breast pocket of his old-fashioned suit and handed Janice a syringe with a clear liquid in it.

"What is this?" she asked, interested.

"A medication mix that will allow us to talk to Mr. Jones properly."

Janice approached him with the syringe and Ianto pushed his back against the wall. "No," he whispered, "stop it." He looked at Bilis. "What game are you playing?" He pushed Janice's hand away when she tried to grab his arm. Suddenly, Joseph was on him and pinned him to the floor. He held him down while Janice gave him the injection. Too late, Ianto succeeded in kicking Joseph off of him. It was still satisfying to see him slam against the wall. Furious, he stared at Bilis. "What did you give me?"

Bilis didn't answer. He took his gloves off.

Ianto could feel a new consciousness pressing against his – a stronger one. "The basis of his barriers is primitive, but they were strengthened with a technique that is far superior. I am not surprised that Joseph had trouble."

Ianto suddenly felt tired. Whatever Bilis had given him, it worked quickly.

He heard Janice's voice as if it was far away. "Can you get into his head?"

Bilis laughed. "I could, but that won't be necessary. He will answer all our questions – voluntarily."

The world went black. 

***

When he awoke, he was lying in the rain on a pier near the tourist office. He felt sick and cold. The morning dawned and already, the faint rays of the autumn sun began to warm the top of the Norwegian Church's tower. Ianto sat up, leaning against the pier's banister. When his vision became blurry, he blinked a few times and rubbed his face. His skin felt feverish. 

The roar of an engine broke the silence and Ianto winced, then turned towards the noise. He wasn't sure if it was just wishful thinking, but he thought he saw the black Torchwood SUV turn into the entrance of the garage. Staggering, he got to his feet and hurried to the tourist office. 

***

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, turning away from the safe in his office. He held the phone between shoulder and ear as he took off his coat. "Helen, where the hell is he?"

She sounded guilty. _"We don't know. I tried to reach you, but-"_

"My phone was blocked," Jack said. "I had no reception." He let himself sink wearily into his chair and leaned his head back. "We had a rough night."

Jack's secret hope that Ianto would find them hadn't been fulfilled. They'd called for help, but Jack assumed that apart from the mobile signal, any noise had been blocked by the shield. The night had gone by slowly: hours in which they'd searched for means of escape and hadn't found any. The shield had been deactivated in the early morning and the team was unexpectedly free. With Ben, they'd headed back to the Hub. They'd expected Ianto there, instead they found nobody. And Jack had made a particularly unsettling find that he hadn't told the others about, yet: his safe had been opened. He didn't know if anything had been stolen. Out of concern for Ianto, he hadn't had time to check yet. After several attempts, he at least had finally managed to reach somebody at Flat Holm. Normally, he could reach somebody anytime he wanted to, but this morning, his calls had remained unanswered for far too long.

Now the team was sitting in the main Hub, drinking tea, while Jack tried to find out why Ianto hadn't returned from Flat Holm.

_"Bleddyn's gone too. We're afraid that he ran away."_

"You're on an island." Jack shook his head and rubbed his forehead as a thought struck him. "Someone helped him. Thank you, Helen." He hung up. "Torchwood Four helped him," he muttered. Now he had an answer as to why Torchwood Four had locked them up in the basement: they had wanted the team out of the way to break into the Hub and they had probably done the same with Ianto. Bleddyn was either an innocent victim or he was somehow involved. And where was Ianto? Jack put his elbows on the desk and ran his hands through his hair.

_Where was Ianto?_

The alarm of the entrance gate echoed through the main Hub and into Jack's office. Jack ignored it, instead dialling Ianto's mobile again. One last time, then he would inform the others and start a search. Flat Holm was an island. Water, rough sea, maybe Ianto was ... they would ...

"Jack!" Gwen's excited cry made him jump up and rush to the office door.

The sight which greeted him in the main Hub caused him to release a relieved breath: Ianto was coming up the stairs to the workspace. Then, however, Jack noticed that he kept stumbling and was pale and his hands were shaking badly ... Owen was trying to take Ianto's arms and sit him down, but Ianto reacted startled and raised his hands, turning away. Owen stayed back and looked at Jack questioningly, who quickly went down the stairs to the work area. Ianto noticed him and hurried towards him.

He went to meet him. "Ianto-"

"I don't know what happened, but the safety of the Hub could be jeopardized."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, putting an arm around Ianto's waist.

Ianto's head landed on Jack's shoulder. "I don't know what happened since my departure to Flat Holm," he whispered. "I might have passed on information."

He collapsed and Jack caught him quickly. "Owen," he said, while he lowered Ianto to the floor.

Owen had fetched his doctor's bag and knelt beside Ianto. "What did he say?" Carefully, Owen shone his flashlight into Ianto's eyes.

"I need you to test him for Retcon, just to make sure. He says he can't remember the last twenty-four hours."

"He was hit on the head quite a few times," Owen replied.

"Test for Retcon," Jack repeated firmly and stood up.

Gwen, Tosh and Ben stood beside him, watching Owen work. Gwen crossed her arms. "Where did you send him, Jack?"

He put his hands on his hips. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does," Gwen said, irritated. "You send him out somewhere and he comes back in this state."

"These events have nothing to do with each other."

Owen opened Ianto's shirt. "Shit," he muttered. Tosh gasped in shock and Ben grimaced. Jack swallowed thickly when he saw the bruises and burns covering Ianto's chest. Furious, he clenched his fists and turned away to go back to his office.

"Answer my question, Jack," Gwen said.

He stopped. "I can't."

"It endangers Ianto's life."

Jack turned around to her angrily. "Don't you get it? All this was Torchwood Four! It has nothing to do with Ianto's mission. Everything that has happened in the last few days leads back to Torchwood Four. They lured us into a trap so that they could break into the Hub. And you better pick up the phone and find out what happened to the cult. Call the members and the police. Do something!" He stormed into his office and slammed the door. Furious, he swept a stack of files off his desk. With trembling hands, he poured himself a Scotch and gulped it down.

"Your management style takes time to get used to."

Jack whirled around to Ben. "What are you doing in here?" he asked angrily.

Ben wasn't impressed. "You have to understand why Gwen wants answers, Captain. We all want answers."

Jack walked up to him. "You know what amazes me about you? You emerge out of nowhere and want to work with us and we know that Torchwood Four instrumentalizes people."

Ben stared back calmly. "I'm not easily manipulated."

"That's what you think."

"Do a polygraph test, read my hidden brain waves ... whatever you need from me, I'll give it to you, because you don't have many allies out there, Captain, and I'm sure that you'll need them." Jack turned away until Ben asked softly, "What are you afraid of?"

Jack turned back to him. "I'm not the best leader, I know that, but I have reasons for what I do."

"You're a man of many principles," Ben said. "Apparently, your team doesn't understand them, though."

"They don't need to understand them," Jack replied. "They just have to trust me."

Ben sighed. "I don't have to tell you that you're going about this the wrong way, do I?"

"With this, they have to. What happened to Ianto has got nothing to do with his mission."

"Tell me where he was," Ben said.

Jack poured himself another glass of Scotch. "Remind me about that when you write your exclusive story."

Ben poured himself a glass as well and held it up. "I'll drink to that."

Jack clinked glasses with him. 

***

Owen knocked on Jack's door a while later. He looked tired and a glance into the main Hub showed Jack that Tosh and Gwen were looking just as exhausted, still trying to find evidence that someone had broken in. Meanwhile, Jack had searched his safe and found out what was missing.

Something that upset him even more.

"So?" Jack asked.

"Bad news," Owen answered with a sigh, studying Ianto's file. "They roughed him up quite a bit. The bruises are very deep and I suspect a moderate concussion. However, his blood is worrying me." He sat down. Jack pushed a glass of Scotch over the desk which he'd already poured for Owen a few minutes ago. Owen sipped gratefully and then explained, "He has Retcon in his blood. I can't say how much was erased from his memory. I also found Sodium Pentathol. That's-"

"A truth drug," Jack interrupted him and leaned back in his chair. "I know." He rubbed his eyes wearily.

Owen raised his eyebrows, but didn't comment on it. "The most troubling substance in his blood is a third drug. Tiramin."

"How much?"

"A lot. At least five doses." Owen leaned forward and stared at Jack earnestly. "Tiramin protects the brain from damage caused by a mental attack and reduces all functions to the most necessary. I have no idea what happens if somebody receives that many injections over a short amount of time. They must have tried to break into his head, failed, given him Tiramin to pull him out of the psi shock and started from scratch."

Jack stood up and pushed his chair so violently against the desk that the wheels slammed against the wood. The very idea made him nauseous. "That's torture," he said angrily and left his office.

Owen followed him hastily. "Yes and it could cause brain damage."

Ianto was lying on the old couch behind the desks. He was unconscious, probably sleeping off the effects of the Tiramin. Jack hoped he would wake up healthy. Of course he also wanted answers from Ianto, but he would be happy enough if Ianto would survive the events unscathed. Jack sat down on the coffee table and focused on him. He carefully looked for Ianto's mental barriers and, after a moment, ducked his head in defeat. He entwined his fingers with Ianto and swallowed when he felt the cold skin. He released him and instead tightened the blanket around him. "His barriers are gone," he said to Owen. "They had access to his mind."

Gwen and Tosh had turned to them and Gwen asked, "What for? They locked us up and could have done the same to him. What did they want Ianto for?"

Jack rubbed his forehead. "Ianto knows codes. An outsider can move freely in the base when they gain control over Ianto's mind."

Owen crossed his arms. "To do what?"

Jack thought of the safe, the missing object ... and he didn't understand. "They had the ability to cause harm, to take over the Hub." _Why only take one thing?_ "Why haven't they done it?"

Tosh chewed thoughtfully on the arms of her glasses. "Maybe they are waiting for something?"

Jack looked at her. "For what?"


	19. Chapter 19

**18.**

 

Jack tapped his pen on the desk and tried to keep his temper under control. "No, Prime Minister, UNIT's involvement isn't necessary."

_"It sounds like you have no control over the situation, Captain. Her Majesty is concerned."_

"I only informed Her Majesty because she was involved in the decision to neutralize Torchwood Four back then."

 _"And obviously, you haven't done it right, Captain, because they're back and seemingly more dangerous than ever."_ Jack closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. The Prime Minister sighed. _"I don't blame you. Torchwood is antiquated and acts antiquated. Disorganized and impulsive. The HQ was posing a big problem already."_

Jack stifled a frustrated cry. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "And your answer is UNIT?"

_"Captain, you have three team members and an archivist. You should be happy about support, even more so when you consider the composition of your team."_

"What do you mean?"

_"A doctor, a techie and a former cop? Captain, this isn't Scooby Doo, it's reality. You need qualified staff."_

"My team is qualified!"

 _"Not in my eyes!"_ The Prime Minister sounded as frustrated as Jack now. _"Listen, the elections are getting closer and to be honest, it doesn't look good for me. Saxon is ... popular. I promised to reduce unnecessary spending in the government and even though your organization doesn't appear in public records, I believe that we have reached the limit. We don't have the budget and I think it's better to deal with extraterrestial threats in an international environment. UNIT is better equipped, better organized, has more staff and a lot of experience and, in principle, your tasks overlap. We don't need one organization for just the UK if we've got an international alliance always at the ready."_

Jack was stunned. "You want to close Torchwood down?"

 _"Go with the time, Captain. Torchwood is long dead."_ With that, the Prime Minister rang off.

Jack stared at the phone. Then he shook his head and hastily looked for a list of telephone numbers that Ianto had given him a few months ago. Contacts to all the ministers and the UNIT head officers. He found it and dialed a mobile number.

It wasn't long until someone answered, _"Hello?"_

"Mr. Saxon," Jack said. "Jack Harkness. I guess it can't hurt to talk."

Saxon laughed. _"When do you want to meet?"_

***

Ianto carefully sat up with Jack's help. Jack nodded at Owen when he switched off some of the Hub's bright lights. Ianto's face clearly showed that he had a bad headache and that wasn't surprising.

Gwen and Tosh had gone home half an hour ago – following Jack's command. They'd wanted to wait until Ianto woke up, but that could have taken hours. Gwen had a dinner date with Rhys and Tosh needed the rest. Contrary to Jack's expectations, Ianto had started to fight unconsciousness a few minutes ago, as if he didn't want to sleep, no matter how much he needed it.

Now he was sitting on the couch, with his shoulders hunched and wrapped in a blanket. Without mental barriers, he probably felt defenseless, even among friends. Jack knew the feeling. He was used to his own mental barriers and any attack or intrusion was just as bad as having your home raided.

Ianto looked up at Jack. "I'm sorry," he muttered hoarsely.

Jack sat down beside him and put an arm around his shoulders. Ianto leaned against him, closing his eyes tiredly. Taking one of his hands, Jack squeezed reassuringly. Ianto's skin was still cold. Owen was sitting on the coffee table and took Ianto's pulse. Jack quietly replied, "No need to apologize."

"I threatened security and possibly revealed secrets."

Owen snorted. "You also have enough Tiramin in your blood to convince us that that wasn't entirely voluntary."

Jack rubbed Ianto's arm. "They got us all. It was way too easy for Torchwood Four."

"Ianto needs to rest." Owen made some notes in Ianto's file. "And a real bed."

"He's sleeping in mine," Jack suggested.

"Okay. I'm hitting the sack. I'm sleeping in the Hub, so if you have any problems during the night, call me."

"Thank you," Jack replied.

Owen nodded and stood up. "Jack, the girls and I talked and decided that we won't annoy you with questions anymore. Starting tomorrow, there weill be new rules and one of them is openness – and that applies to all of us, alright?"

Jack swallowed. "As far as I can, Owen."

"That's not an answer."

"Many things, I don't tell you for personal reasons, others for reasons of confidentiality. I can only compromise on the personal things. And I promise that I'll do better where that's concerned."

Owen looked at him for a long moment critically, then he asked, "Whatever you tell Ianto, you'll tell me as well?"

"I can't promise that."

Owen pressed his lips together. "That's all I'm going to get, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Fine. See you tomorrow." With that, Owen turned and left.

Jack pressed a kiss to Ianto's hair. Ianto sighed. "Bleddyn wasn't real, was he?"

"He wasn't a patient. He belonged to Torchwood Four."

For a few minutes, they sat quietly and listened to the water splashing down the sculpture, then Ianto suddenly softly asked, "What did I steal?"

Jack raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You remember?"

"Dimly. The Tiramin seems to have counteracted the Retcon. I know that I was in the Hub. In your office, at the safe ... I remember that I was on a boat, but ... everything is blurry. Just ..." Frustrated, he ran his hand over his forehead.

"Alright," Jack said. "You need rest. I'll help you with your mental barriers, okay? Then you can sleep better."

"You don't have to."

"I want to." He let his mind brush Ianto's and prepared to share his own barriers with him when, suddenly, Ianto pushed him away and reared back. With anxious eyes, he stared at him, breathing heavily. Jack raised his hands and pulled his consciousness away from Ianto's. "Hey, hey!" he said loudly. "It's okay. It's just me."

Ianto stared at him for a moment, then he breathed out and relaxed a bit. "Sorry," he muttered. "I'm just ..." He stopped and closed his eyes.

"You're traumatized," Jack said. "They tortured your consciousness and you'll need time to get over it. Normally, I wouldn't push you, but your barriers are gone and you're feeling vulnerable. That only intensifies the trauma. Let me help you."

Ianto took a deep breath and nodded slowly. Jack waited until Ianto looked at him firmly, focussing on him as if he wanted to make sure that it was really Jack's consciousness he was letting in and not a stranger's.

"Okay," Jack said, and tried again. This time, he managed to expand his own mental barriers to encompass Ianto's. He saw some of the tension leave Ianto's body. "Alright?"

Ianto nodded, relieved.

Jack reached out a hand. "Come here."

Ianto shook his head and pulled his legs onto the couch. He put his arms around them. "It's alright."

Jack wanted to argue but he didn't. If Ianto wanted distance, then he would get it.

"What did I steal?" Ianto asked again.

Jack folded his hands. "In my safe was a part of the Rift manipulator. That's what they wanted."

Ianto frowned. "What for?"

Jack put his hands under his chin, staring thoughtfully at the water tower that hid the Rift manipulator. "No idea. I guess we'll find out." 

***

The night passed without incident. Owen woke up early but more rested than he had been in days, and his first glance was towards the surveillance monitors that Tosh had set up in the guest quarters for him. Anita's babies were developing splendidly. Owen watched them playfully fight for the tennis ball for a few minutes, then he got dressed quickly, wondering if he should have breakfast himself first before he fed the Weevils or if he should feed the Weevils first.

He looked over to Hywel, who was sleeping in a crate for dogs near the door. "Hey, buddy," he said and walked over to him. He opened the door to the crate. "Time to get up," he said, pulling the blanket out on which Hywel had curled up.

Hywel didn't respond.

Owen frowned. "Hey, ugly," he said softly. "What's the matter?"


	20. Chapter 20

**19.**

 

"What are you thinking about?" Jack asked when Ianto entered the boardroom with coffee and a pensive face.

Ianto put the coffee pot down and spread out the rolls he'd bought for Owen, Jack and himself. Jack took the opportunity to watch Ianto. He looked as if he felt better. The suit fitted him perfectly, like always, and he even wore a slight smile on his lips. He'd re-built his mental barriers this morning – something that Jack welcomed and regretted. Although it meant that Ianto had recovered, it also meant that Jack lost the closeness that sharing his mental barriers brought. He'd suggested to Ianto that he should take a few days off but Ianto had a different opinion. After he’d gotten up, Ianto immediately took a shower before heading off to the bakery. Everything had seemed to be fine. And now this thoughtful expression on his face. "Archie called this morning," Ianto answered.

"I didn't hear him calling," Jack said, leaning against the boardroom table with crossed arms.

"On my mobile."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Oh yeah?"

"He thinks that I should come to Glasgow for a few weeks to train my empathic abilities."

Jack nodded thoughtfully. "He's an empath," he said slowly. "I can't offer the same expertise he can."

Ianto looked at him with raised eyebrows. "So you agree?"

"As soon as the whole crisis with Torchwood Four is over."

"Of course," Ianto said. He poured coffee. "Except for Tosh, I have spoken to you all. I'll talk to her later."

Jack nodded and took Ianto's hand after he'd set down the coffee. He pulled him closer. "I have to leave for Newport later."

"Newport?" Ianto asked, confused. "What for?"

Jack let out a breath. "I have an appointment with Harold Saxon."

"Why?"

Jack swallowed. So far, he hadn't told his team that the Prime Minister had taken a step back from them in recent months and that he didn't even know if the Queen would continue to support them. "Torchwood's in trouble. The current Prime Minister wants to cut our budget ... to zero. Harold Saxon promised to continue funding. I want to hear what exactly he's offering."

Ianto nodded in understanding. "Why not? He seems competent. He's popular. He's sure to win the election."

"And in that case, having a friend couldn't hurt. I just don't know whether we should chain ourselves to the governement."

"Just listen to what he has to say and then you can decide."

Jack made a thoughtful noise. When he realized that Ianto wanted to step away, though, he pulled him closer again. He smiled and asked softly, "What do you think about the two of us taking some time off? Maybe even a whole evening."

Ianto frowned. "To do what?"

Jack wasn't sure whether he should be hurt. He himself had decided not to turn his sexual relationship with Ianto into more than a friendship with benefits. What he'd just suggested sounded like a date, though, and he could understand that Ianto was confused. On the other hand, Ianto seemed a bit too opposed to the idea of spending a whole evening with him – without interruptions. Carefully, Jack asked, "I think you should always take your time with the first time, right?"

Ianto needed a moment, but then he blushed and smiled nervously. "Yes."

"Listen, I know it's intimate, and you possibly feel that it's too intimate because we're not in a relationship."

Ianto took a deep breath, then nodded slowly. "Yes. I'm sorry."

Jack cradled his cheek in one hand. "You don't need to apologize. I just think ... I'll give you everything I _can_ give you. A relationship might not be it, but ... I can give you intimacy." He smiled. "I'm good with intimacy. No complaints so far."

Ianto chuckled. "I don't doubt it."

Jack planted a soft kiss on his lips. "It's a big thing for you and I respect that."

Ianto stared at him for a moment, almost hesitant, then he admitted, "It's not that I don't trust you. I don't trust me."

"Why?" Jack asked.

Ianto leaned forward and whispered, "If you really have to leave, I can't be more than we are right now, Jack. I was never the type for casual." He wrapped his fingers around Jack's braces. "It would be too intimate."

Jack's thumb brushed Ianto's cheekbone. "Okay," he finally said. ”If you’re alright with what we have now, than so am I.”

"Really?" Ianto asked.

Jack pulled him into another kiss. "Really."

Ianto looked relieved, as if he'd expected Jack to push him away. The 21st century and its sexual insecurities ...

The door to the boardroom opened and Ianto quickly stepped back from Jack. Owen didn't even seem to notice what kind of situation he'd barged into. His eyes immediately found Jack and Jack was shocked by the sadness he saw in them. "Jack," Owen said and then cleared his throat.

Jack put his hands in his pockets. "Where is Hywel?"

"I need the incinerator," Owen said quietly. "He's dead." 

***

When Gwen finally found Owen in the room where the incinerator was, he didn't notice her coming in. Gwen swallowed and fought the urge to turn on the lights. Only the flickering light of the flames coming through the small window in the door of the incinerator lit the bare room and turned it into a creepy and sad place at the same time. Gwen had never been here before. She'd had to ask Ianto for directions, wishing the next moment to have asked someone else. She knew that Ianto had burned Lisa's body here under Jack's supervision. He had given no sign of being uncomfortable at her inquiry, but she still felt guilty.

Owen stared into the flames, completely still, his shoulders hunched. Not sure if she would be welcomed, Gwen stepped cautiously closer. "Hey," she said softly and he startled.

When he turned to her, she saw tears in his dark eyes, but he blinked them away rapidly. "I wanted to be alone."

"Ianto mentioned," Gwen said.

"So you ignore it on purpose?" He turned away, looking back into the flames.

Gwen sighed sadly and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." Her hand touched his cheek and turned his head so she could press a soft kiss on his lips. "I'm really sorry," she whispered and entwined their fingers. Then she also stared into the flames. "Why did he die?"

Owen didn't seem to want to answer for a moment, but then he changed his mind. "He was probably sick. I thought he was just the weakest and needed a little milk to get back on his feet. If I'd been more thorough, I could have helped him."

"Don't blame yourself. You did a lot for him."

Owen sighed and put his free hand on the door of the furnace. "I hope so."

She rested her head on his shoulder and waited with him. 

***

"Got it," Ianto said and he sounded as if he couldn't believe that the solution was so simple.

Tosh looked up at him. He was standing in the door to Jack's office, holding a large, leather-bound book in his hands. His eyes, however, were focused on her and she turned her desk chair in his direction. Her eyes ached from the long work at her computer and she was glad for a short break. High above their heads, just below the ceiling of the cavernous main Hub, Myfanwy was circling around, squeaking in contentment. Tosh knew that everything was not fine – Hywel was dead and Owen was heartbroken and there was Torchwood Four to think of – but for the moment, they had caught a break. She pulled off her glasses. "What did you find?"

" _D12, 10_ ," Ianto answered. "The code the suicide victims wrote on their arms."

"They are more likely victims than real _suicide_ victims. We can assume that they've been manipulated to commit suicide. After what happened to you, someone probably forced them to using mind control."

Ianto nodded sadly.

"What about _D12, 10_ then?" Tosh asked to distract him – and herself – from the memories.

He stepped closer. "Daniel - Chapter 12, verse 10: _'And I heard but did not understand and I said, 'Master, what is the End of all these things?' And he said, 'Go, Daniel, for the things are closed up and sealed until the end of time.'_ "

Tosh frowned. "A verse from the Bible? What is that supposed to mean?"

"It must mean something for Torchwood Four," Ianto answered, closing the Bible. He pulled up Owens chair, sat down and placed the Bible on Tosh's desk. "Tosh," he said earnestly, "I wanted to talk to you."

"If you think that you should develop your empathy, then I don't mind," she replied.

Ianto looked at her in surprise, then smiled. "Alright. Thank you."

"Just be careful, Ianto," Tosh said. She took his hand. "That's important."

He gently squeezed her fingers and nodded. 

***

Harold Saxon looked just like in the many telly reports about him: a tall, slim, fair-haired man, who radiated competence in his tailored suit and a lot of elegance, without being arrogant. His friendly face wore a smile as he shook Jack's hand and sat down at the table of the hotel restaurant he'd wanted to meet in. At the door to the restaurant, Jack noticed Saxon's entourage – three bodyguards who were eyeing the few guests present critically and a young woman who was probably Saxon's PA – then he turned his focus back to Saxon.

Saxon ordered a glass of wine and turned his hazel eyes to Jack. "Awful weather today, don't you think?" he asked.

"No small talk," Jack answered.

Saxon laughed. "I knew I would like you."

"What can you offer us in the event of your election?"

Saxon folded his hands on the pristine white tablecloth. "Security. Influence beyond UNIT's. Let's face it, the military can't be trusted."

Jack smiled sarcastically. "Says the Minister of Defense."

Saxon nodded and replied, "So I should know."

Jack acknowledged this statement with a satisfied tilt of his head. "Okay. If you should be elected-"

"That's certain."

"If you are elected," Jack repeated, "you'll offer us security and a big budget. What do you want in return? I won't let you get involved in our affairs."

Saxon raised his hands. "I didn't ask for that. The institute remains yours. I would only sometimes ask for your help."

Jack narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What kind of help?"

"Did you know that Harriett Jones defended the Earth together with Torchwood One?"

Jack leaned back in his chair. "Against the Sycorax. I didn't approve."

"It's not about weapons."

"Then what is it about?"

Saxon was silent as the waitress set down his wine and waited until she was safely out of earshot. "The Doctor. I want him."

"We haven't got him." Jack tensed involuntarily. After being left behind by the Doctor, their friendship was certainly strained, but he still respected him. After the destruction of Torchwood One, he'd managed to take the Doctor off of the list of the enemies threatening the Earth, but he was aware that too many people still saw him that way. No matter what had happened between Jack and the Time Lord, though, it didn't change the fact the he was a hero. For that reason alone, Jack would never betray him. The fact that the Doctor maybe could explain his immortality and perhaps undo it were almost next to irrelevant compared to that.

Saxon sipped his wine. He seemed calm, as if he'd expected the answer. "Captain, I've read your file. Not the official one, of course. I know of your little ... trick and I know that you travelled with the Doctor."

"I won't hand the Doctor over to you. Even if I knew where he was," he said quietly, but firmly.

Saxon's voice remained calm as he replied, "There's no handing over involved. I'm just really interested in rekindling an old friendship." Jack furrowed his brow quizzically and Saxon smiled. "The Doctor helped the world a lot. I just want to reward him." Jack looked at Saxon for a long moment, not sure if he could trust this man. Saxon put on a happy smile. "What do you say, Captain?" he asked. "If you know where he is, please let me know?"

Jack nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll notify you. I'm not responsible for what happens after, though. I won't keep him prisoner or deceive him in any way. If I notify you, I'll tell him and it's his decision what he'll do about it."

"Understood," Saxon replied. "Of course I can also rely on regular reports on your work?"

"Actually, we only write those for the internal exchange with UNIT and the Queen," Jack answered. Saxon raised his eyebrows and Jack pursed his lips as he nodded in agreement and corrected himself. "Alright. You fund us, you want to know what you approve the money for. Got it."

"You'll remain independent," Saxon assured him. "I'd just like to know what is happening so close to the Rift."

"Fine."

Saxon stood and buttoned his jacket. "We will achieve a lot together, Captain Harkness. I'm glad Torchwood is on my side." He turned away and walked off.

Jack watched him go, having the vague suspicion that he'd just signed a contract with the devil. 

***

Bilis Manger barely looked up from the repair of a Victorian wall clock when Janice walked into his shop. As always, the woman gave off a mixture of contempt and arrogance, a complete contradiction to her neutral expression. He wondered how she ever managed to become director. She seemed to be lacking any humanity.

She walked up to the counter and looked at an antique grandfather clock in the corner while she said, "I really hope you know what you are doing. Yesterday night, we just had to reach out and take their base and we didn't because you told us not to." Bilis looked up and Janice lifted an eyebrow challengingly. "If it turns out that you made a mistake, we'll know what to do."

Bilis sighed deeply and put down the screwdriver. "It's no use to threaten me. Without me, you have no access to my Lord and without him, you'll never reach your goal. We do it the way I say. You have no other choice. We have to wait for the right time."

"We could take the base. We're stronger than they are."

"But your resources are limited." He set the clock carefully. "No, we have to do this using mistrust and betrayal. Divide and conquer, and attack when they are weakest. Mr. Jones was only the beginning." He looked at the clock face intently as the ticking mechanism was set in motion and smiled contentedly.

Janice nodded. "Fine, I trust you. But just because you helped us to escape from the Rift."

Bilis bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement. Janice turned and left. Bilis couldn't help but laugh quietly. She was full of impatience and hate. An explosive mixture. He would have to keep an eye on her to ensure that she wouldn't act rashly. Timing was everything.

The bell above his shop door rang and he looked up at the customer who entered with a polite smile. "Ah, Mr. Jones," Bilis said and got the stopwatch out of the drawer, "I was just thinking of you."

 

END  
09/12


End file.
